A ‘fireball’ lights up Mexico City skies, sparking awe and plenty of memes

A bright object falling from space lit up the skies over Mexico’s capital around 3 a.m. Wednesday, stretching over plains, volcanoes and small towns.

Videos of a ball of fire shooting over the Latin American country and dissolving in a burst of light over Mexico City struck awe in many — and quickly became the fuel for memes circulating on social media.

“No, the meteorite that exploded last night isn’t an excuse to talk to your ex,” someone wrote on X, over a GIF of dinosaurs walking through a meteorite shower.

Soon, photos of the fireball edited with cartoon characters and political jokes flooded the internet.

Scientists across Mexico were quick to note that the object rocketing across the skies was not a meteorite; it was a bolide.

Bolides, defined by NASA as fireballs, are “exceptionally bright meteors that are spectacular enough to be seen over a very wide area.”

Mario Rodríguez, a doctor in space science with the National Autonomous University of Mexico, said it could also be described as a meteoroid, or a fragment of a meteor.

Bolides like the one that coasted over Mexican skies early Wednesday catch fire as they descend to Earth.

“Due to the great pressure on the object, they begin to flash with a stretching tail and emit light,” said Rodríguez, one of a group of scientists studying the videos that shocked many Mexicans. He said unlike meteorites, which impact Earth, a bolide disintegrates in the atmosphere.

This particular meteoroid, he said, was around 1.5 meters (5 feet) in length and posed no threat to the public.