A spectacular and luminous fireball recently fell over an active volcano in Japan.

A special celestial spectacle took place in Japan on Monday. Footage from a surveillance camera above shows a dazzlingly bright meteor over the Sakurajima volcano, near the port city of Kagoshima.

The fireball burns up during its rapid fall through the atmosphere and flashes for a moment as brightly as the full moon. The tracer continues to glow for a long time until it is gradually blown away by the wind.

Fireballs are nothing other than large shooting stars. When they burn up and burst in the atmosphere, they also release a large amount of energy, which is emitted in the form of light.

The spectacle is so bright that the camera's sensor system even produces phantom images of what appears to be a second fireball flying upwards from below.

Fireballs are rather rare, but usually very spectacular and their occurrence cannot be predicted. However, there are regularly recurring meteor showers, such as the Perseids, where fireballs are particularly frequent.