Involcan confirms ‘Fireball’ over the Canary Islands was a meteor
The Canary Islands’ Volcanology Institute (Involcan) has confirmed that the intense “fireball” seen streaking across the sky in the early hours of Thursday morning was caused by a bolide, a bright meteor produced when a space object enters the Earth’s atmosphere at high speed.
According to Involcan, the Canarian Seismic Network detected a clear signal from this “cosmic visitor” at around 2:58am, which was visible from several islands. The energy released on impact was strong enough to create shockwaves that were recorded by seismometers and even felt by some residents.
“The Earth is constantly bombarded by cosmic material, mostly tiny particles that burn up as shooting stars,” explained Involcan. “However, from time to time, larger objects penetrate deeper into the atmosphere, producing a much brighter light and louder sound.”
The institute added that bolides often break apart as they enter the atmosphere, generating multiple shockwaves, a pattern that was clearly captured across the network’s monitoring stations. The event lasted several minutes and was recorded across the archipelago.
Videos shared on social media show the fireball fragmenting and dispersing, consistent with Involcan’s seismic data. Based on the arrival times of acoustic waves, scientists believe the meteor’s most probable location was above the island of Tenerife.
Seismic graphs recorded the moment it entered the Earth's atmosphere.
While the phenomenon caused some concern among locals, with reports of explosions, barking dogs, and minor ground vibrations, particularly in northern Tenerife and La Palma, experts stress that there was no danger to the public.
Involcan reminded residents that while these events are rare, they are natural and mostly harmless. However, in exceptional cases, the shockwaves from larger meteors can cause damage, as seen in Russia in 2013 when thousands of windows were shattered by a similar event.
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