A faint meteor streaked briefly across the sky during an active display of the red aurora borealis over Malangen in northern Norway, creating a quiet but striking moment captured on camera in real time.
The 25-second undated video, shared online by NEXTA, shows the northern lights glowing across the sky when a small, fast-moving streak of light appears and vanishes within seconds. Moments later, the person recording the video steps into the frame, audibly reacting in surprise after realising what they have just witnessed.
The clip was also circulated by RT, which described the incident as a meteor streaking through a red aurora borealis over Malangen. While the meteor itself appears subtle rather than dramatic, its visibility against the slowly shifting aurora makes the moment unusual.
The meteor’s exact composition remains unknown. Experts cited by NEXTA said small fragments may have survived the descent and fallen somewhere in or around the Oslo region, though no official search for debris has been announced so far.
What makes the video striking is not brightness or scale, but timing.
What Are the Northern Lights?
The meteor appears during the northern lights, also known as the aurora — a phenomenon caused when charged particles from the Sun collide with gases in Earth’s upper atmosphere. Guided by Earth’s magnetic field toward the polar regions, these particles interact with oxygen and nitrogen, producing slow-moving waves of green, red, and sometimes purple light.
Norway is among the best places in the world to witness the aurora, particularly during dark winter nights with clear skies. Unlike sudden flashes, auroras unfold gradually, shifting shape over minutes or even hours as solar energy continues to interact with Earth’s magnetic shield.
How Do Meteors Behave?
Meteors behave very differently. They are fragments of rock or metal left over from the early solar system, entering Earth’s atmosphere at extreme speeds. Most burn up completely before reaching the ground and go unnoticed.
Only a small number are visible to the naked eye, and fewer still are caught on camera at the exact moment someone happens to be watching the sky — making brief, easily missed moments like this one especially rare.
