Lorna Hughes and Jonathon Manning
Wales OnlineMon, 01 Mar 2021 01:21 UTC
© UK Meteor NetworkA large fireball was seen over the UK on Sunday night.
People across the UK have reported sightings of a spectacular "fireball" meteor.
The huge space object was spotted lighting up the night sky at just before 10pm on Sunday.
The UK Meteor Network, which monitors meteor sightings in Britain, said it had received hundreds of reports - with many people taking to social media to share their videos.
It said in a post on Twitter: "The reports are flooding in, 120 so far and counting. From the two videos we saw it was a slow moving meteor with clearly visible fragmentation."
Sightings of the meteor falling from the sky were reported in London, Manchester, Milton Keynes, Birmingham, Bath, Liverpool and Devon and Cornwall.
One eyewitness in Birmingham described it as a "massive fireball", with others saying they heard a "sizzling sound" as it moved through the sky.
Another Twitter user said: "I honestly couldn't believe my eyes! Most incredible thing I've ever seen it was like a firework. I'm so excited!!!"
A stargazer in Liverpool said: "Did anybody else just see that meteor that flew over the sky in Liverpool I thought I was seeing things absolute madness a fireball flying across the sky."
And an excited sky watcher said: "OK I might be going mad but I swear I just saw like... the brightest shooting star/meteor? Looked like a firework but was coming down from the sky?!?! Anyone else in London/Essex see something? Freaked me out."
The UK Meteor Network says a fireball meteor is "simply a bright meteor streaking across the sky", and it records half a dozen each year.
Comment: The American Meteor Society (AMS) has received
766 reports of the event, the most widely reported in the UK since
event 5538-2017 on December 31st 2017.
Update: On 2nd March
BBC News reports:
The hunt is on for meteorite fragments that are likely to have fallen to Earth over England on Sunday night.
Many people across Northern Europe saw a fireball in the sky shortly before 22:00 GMT, and the streak of light was also caught on special cameras.
Scientists think some pieces will have survived the intense heat of atmospheric entry and hit the ground.
A computer model that analysed the camera data suggests the probable site of impact is just north of Cheltenham.
The camera data indicates a favourable fall zone
"Strong winds can blow the object off course of where you think it's going to land, and that's what we're working on now. But, yes, somewhere north of Cheltenham, out towards Stow-on-the-Wold," he told BBC News.
The fireball produced a sonic boom as it hurtled across the southern England sky. Eyewitness accounts describe the object breaking up into several defined streaks just before going dark.
Any fragments that made it to the ground will be small, smaller than an orange, say, and are likely to be dark and shiny.
Anyone who finds what they think might be a meteorite is asked to photograph it in situ, noting the GPS co-ordinates from a phone, if that's possible.
Rest of article here.
The American Meteor Society (AMS) has now received
1066 reports, which makes it the most widely reported event in the UK since their modern database system began in 1980.
Comment: The American Meteor Society (AMS) has received 766 reports of the event, the most widely reported in the UK since event 5538-2017 on December 31st 2017.
Update: On 2nd March BBC News reports: The American Meteor Society (AMS) has now received 1066 reports, which makes it the most widely reported event in the UK since their modern database system began in 1980.