‘Stunning’ fireball meteor lights up the sky
A FIREBALL meteor lit up skies across the UK – with skywatchers in awe at the “stunning bright” space object. UK Fireball Network said it was spotted at just after 11.30pm on May 11.
The meteor was spotted on cameras over the Bristol channel, with sightings reported from all over the country. The UK Meteor Network said it received more than 200 public reports.
It says a fireball is a bright meteor streaking across the sky. The spectacle comes in a variety of speeds and colours, and occurs randomly throughout the year, Bristol Live reports.
UK Fireball Network said: “Stunning bright #fireball last night at 23:39 over the #bristolchannel was caught on a couple of our cameras. Did you see it?” In other parts of the UK, the meteor was described as being like “someone setting off a white flare”.
One man in St Albans, Hertfordshire said he spotted the meteor at 12.40am while another witness, in South Wales, said he saw it, describing the phenomenon as like “someone setting off a white flare beside me.”
Aine O’Brien, PhD candidate at the University of Glasgow and a member of the UK Fireball Alliance, said on Twitter: “There was another beautiful fireball over the UK last night. Please check any doorbell cameras, dash cams etc for any footage and send it to @UKMeteorNetwork so our @UK_ Fireball team can have as much data as poss.”
It comes after a “blue and green flaming rock” was spotted over large parts of Scotland, as well as parts of England, and Wales in January. After shooting across the sky the meteors eventually burn up in the earth’s atmosphere before debris crashes to the ground. It is not yet known where the pieces from the latest meteor landed.