‘Mysterious lights in Istanbul caused by meteor shower’

ISTANBUL

According to experts, the light burst and loud noise heard from many locations in Istanbul on Aug. 8 that terrified locals was generated by the annual Perseid meteor shower.

The burst of light and loud sound seen from many points in Istanbul at around 2 a.m. on Aug. 8 caused panic, since the scenery was likened to the light explosion seen during the deadly Feb. 6 earthquakes.

One of the experts who provided information about the situation to allay concerns, Assoc. Prof. Dr. Tolgahan Kılıçoğlu, stated that the cause of the event was the annual meteor shower called Perseid, and there is no connection between a meteorite fall and an earthquake.

“The meteorite seems to break into pieces as it falls, so no debris may have hit the ground. Meteorites in the Perseid shower are usually between the size of a grain of sand and a walnut. It's amazing that such small meteorites can produce such huge lights. When you look at the evening sky these days, you can see a couple meteorites,” Kılıçoğlu said.

Prof. Dr. Faruk Soydugan, another expert on astrophysics, stated that Perseid showers can be observed especially after midnight and usually the meteorites are small in terms of both size and mass, thus they burn up before reaching the earth's surface.

The Perseid shower is one of the meteor showers that occur every year in August.

The dazzlingly bright meteors come from the star constellation Perseus. This event occurs when dust and sand particles left in the path of comet 109P/Swift-Tuttle orbiting the Earth enter the atmosphere and burn up.

The peak times of this meteor shower is around Aug. 11-13, but the effects can often be seen a week before and after these dates.