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A large green flashing light was seen flying through the sky above Japan on Monday.

Japanese mainstream media has reported an unidentified flying object shooting through the sky in the early hours of Halloween. The “fireball” flew across the sky for around 15 seconds before disappearing. Japan’s national public broadcasting organisation, NHK, captured images of the flashing light on one of their cameras positioned in the east of Niigata City at around 5:30 a.m. on Monday morning.

▼ You can see a news report from the Nippon News Network of the sighting here:

The National Astronomical Observatory of Japan reported seeing the same phenomenon from several locations around Eastern Japan.

The “fireball” may have been a comet or a piece of asteroid that had pierced through the Earth’s atmosphere or even falling rocket debris, according to the National Astronomical Observatory. Observatory officials have said this is a very rare event.

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▼ Footage of the flying object from space can be seen here:

The National Astronomical Observatory says the phenomenon was also sighted at several locations including Kanagawa, Chiba, Akita, and Iwate prefectures but so far any debris from the mystery object has not been found on the ground.

Associate Professor Hidehiko Agata from Japan’s National Astronomical Observatory told local media, “If this was a fireball it is an extremely bright example. It’s possible that it was breaking apart while sparkling in the sky, which is an extremely rare phenomenon.”

Sources: Jin115, NHK, YouTube/鈴木公浩, YouTube/Sendai1300
Featured image: YouTube/鈴木公浩
Insert images: YouTube/鈴木公浩