Home » Meteor Explodes Over Hermanus, Cape Town, South Africa

Meteor Explodes Over Hermanus, Cape Town, South Africa

It’s all happening in Hermanus. Last week there were flames reaching the skies as wildfires burned out of control, and tonight the sky was alight with a blaze as an apparent meteor exploded above the seaside town in the Western Cape of South Africa. One local resident wrote on a Whatsapp message that’s gone viral: […]

By SAPeople
17-01-19 11:00
in Fab South African Stuff

It’s all happening in Hermanus. Last week there were flames reaching the skies as wildfires burned out of control, and tonight the sky was alight with a blaze as an apparent meteor exploded above the seaside town in the Western Cape of South Africa.

One local resident wrote on a Whatsapp message that’s gone viral: “A most spectacular thing happened here earlier tonight. A meteorite exploded above Hermanus.

“We thought it was an earthquake a massive explosion and the whole house shaking! Everyone ran outside. Saw on news it was a meteorite!”

The incident occurred just after 20h00 on Wednesday evening, when the evening sky was not yet dark.

One paramedic told the Citizen newspaper it was like nothing he’d ever seen or heard in his life. Windows rattled, dogs barked and neighbours all rushed out to see what was going on.

People described the sound of the explosion as a loud bang like a gas bottle exploding, and many saw the “massive flash of light” that shone in the sky as it appeared to split in two… with one even recording the reflection in his pool on CCTV.

According to the reports, the meteor was seen by witnesses all over the Cape – from Hermanus to Franschhoek, Cape Town to Stellenbosch and the Swartland.

One Capetonian, Clement Capes, asked on Twitter: “What would have happened if it did not explode??”

Read more witness account of the meteor exploding over Cape Town.

Hermanus Meteor reflected in swimming pool:

https://twitter.com/dave_apter/status/1085612653408604162

Photo of the trail:

https://twitter.com/CarlaKatjie/status/1085609718972928000

P.S. According to Hubble Space: “A meteor is the flash of light that we see in the night sky when a small chunk of interplanetary debris burns up as it passes through our atmosphere. … If any part of a meteoroid survives the fall through the atmosphere and lands on Earth, it is called a meteorite.”