By MASANOBU HIGASHIYAMA/ Staff Writer
October 11, 2022 at 14:32 JST
A meteor is spotted streaking across the skies of Fuji, Shizuoka Prefecture, at 6:08 p.m. on Oct. 10. (Provided by Daichi Fujii)
A spectacular fireball was seen streaking through the sky over the Kanto region at 6:08 p.m. on Oct. 10.
The meteor traveled swiftly through the sky for several seconds, exploded, then disappeared.
The sighting coincided with the Draconid meteor shower, also known as the Giacobinids, which neared its peak on Oct. 10.
However, Daichi Fujii, a curator at Hiratsuka City Museum in Kanagawa Prefecture, said he believes the fireball was a sporadic meteor that was not associated with any meteor shower.
The meteor traveled across the sky from north to south, from the Boso Peninsula in Chiba Prefecture to the Pacific Ocean, according to Fujii.
A webcam placed at The Asahi Shimbun’s headquarters in Tokyo captured the fireball flying through the eastern sky at 6:08 p.m. on Oct. 10.
(The current live webcam is at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nI6LEDNu-_c)
Another annual meteor shower will soon light up the night sky, with the Orionids meteor shower expected to peak on or around Oct. 21.
Skywatchers are hoping to observe a bright show of meteors unhindered by the waning crescent moon.
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