[Comprehensive] "Loud noises heard everywhere" Fireball streaks across Tokyo night sky in Japan

Suddenly Appeared and Disappeared in the Early Morning Sky on the 2nd
Japanese Celestial Expert Estimates "50cm Meteor"
Phenomena Possibly Caused by Shockwaves Such as Loud Noise and Tremors

At around 2:30 a.m. on the 2nd (local time), a fireball was captured streaking across the sky over the Kanto region of Japan. / Photo by NHK Broadcasting Capture

[Asia Economy Intern Reporter Lim Juhyung] A massive fireball, presumed to be a meteor, suddenly appeared and disappeared in the skies over Tokyo, Japan.

According to Japanese broadcaster NHK, around 2:30 a.m. local time on the 2nd, a large fireball appeared in the sky over Tokyo and the Kanto region of Japan, crossing toward the ground. Near the area where the fireball appeared, a thunder-like boom was heard, and houses reportedly shook.

On the same day, videos capturing the meteor falling were uploaded on Japanese social networking services (SNS), attracting attention from netizens. The video shows the fireball crossing the sky, brightly illuminating the night, then fading away leaving only a tail.

The Twitter user 'Kagaya' who posted the video in Japan wrote, "The meteor fell flowing from west to east," adding, "A loud noise that could be heard indoors occurred a few minutes later, but I don't know if it is related."

One netizen said, "There were loud noises heard all over Tokyo." Another netizen said, "A child sleeping on the second floor thought they had rolled off the bed," adding, "It was really a loud sound."

A meteor appearing in the Kanto region crossing the sky and then disappearing / Photo by YouTube capture

Astronomical experts explained that the fireball seen in the night sky that day is presumed to be a meteor. On the same day, Shinsuke Abe, an associate professor of space science at Nihon University, told the Japanese media outlet Asahi Shimbun in an interview, "The fireball was about as bright as a full moon, but considering that it was not detected by the U.S. Hawaii astronomical observation network monitoring celestial bodies over 1 meter in size, it is estimated to be a meteor about 50 cm in size."

Analyses suggest that the loud booms and shaking reported by netizens on SNS and other internet communities were caused by the 'shockwave' generated as the meteor fell supersonically to the ground.

Associate Professor Shinsuke said, "According to NASA, meteoroids about 1 meter in size enter the atmosphere once every three days, and meteors about 50 cm in size enter once a day. While this is a common phenomenon globally, since 70% of the Earth is ocean, cases observed in densely populated areas like this one are rare," he explained.

He added, "If the orbit is determined, it will be possible to know whether the meteor completely burned up in the sky or if some fragments fell."

The 'Japan Meteor Research Society,' a group of amateur astronomers in Japan, is collecting observation data from various locations. They plan to estimate the meteor's falling trajectory and collect fragments that may have landed on the ground.

Meanwhile, two meteorite falls have been observed previously in Japan. One is the so-called 'Tsukuba meteorite' that appeared over Tsukuba City, Ibaraki Prefecture in 1996, and the other is a case discovered in Komaki City, Aichi Prefecture in 2018.

In both cases, meteorite fragments weighing several hundred grams were collected.