In the evening of May 30 a giant fireball lit up the skies south of Venice, Italy. The object, which was traveling very slowly along a south-north trajectory, was captured by three video stations in the area, plus observed by countless bystanders and recorded in pictures. The video data allowed to precisely measure the trajectory, which made it clear that the rock was headed straight toward the Venice metropolitan area, and that it would have landed there if it had not disintegrated in flight.

During its atmospheric incursion the body withstood many explosions, and it is doubtful that falls have occurred. In the video below, captured by a station located in the Lido of Venice, and operated by longtime meteor expert Maurizio Eltri (who also owns an outstanding collection of meteoroids, and in particular sells some beautiful specimens online) the fireball is impressively seen as stationary, progressively lighting up as it nears the Venice area. 




For more information please check this site (in Italian) where Enrico Stomeo (the other big expert of meteors in Italy) and Maurizio explain the data and the resulting trajectory analysis. The page is titled "considerazioni preliminari" - preliminary considerations - which makes it clear that there will be more detailed analyses coming in for this observation.