Clues as to how the solar system came into existence could be hidden in a layer of meteorites just beneath the surface of Antarctica, a team of British scientists claim.

A recent study by researchers at the University of Manchester posits the theory that a "hidden reserve" of meteorites lies between 10 and 50cm beneath the icy surface.

If discoverable, these rocks - which were originally part of large planets which subsequently broke apart - could help scientists in their understanding of the formation of the solar system.

A streaking fireball brighter than the full moon lit up skies over northern Italy on Wednesday evening.

The fireball left a trail of vapour hanging in the sky for minutes.

Not long after the unusual event, pictures of bright flashes, vapour trails and eyewitness reports started to emerge on social media, with users suggesting they had witnessed a meteorite falling to earth.

The unidentified flying object lit up skies over northern Italy, travelling east to west from Genoa to Venice at around 6.19pm.

Sightings of the object were also reported from as far away as southern France and Switzerland.

La Repubblica reported a spike in phone calls made to Italy's fire brigade to report the phenomenon.

A photo of the vapour trail, captured on a road outside Genoa, was uploaded to the Italian citizen journalism website, YouReporter.

Hundreds of people across south eastern France reported seeing the skies lit up by "balls of fire" on Wednesday evening.

While many wondered whether the phenomenon was linked to some kind of military exercise and others panicked that planes were on fire, the fire balls are believed to have been caused by a meteorite shower.

Social networks lit up at around 6.20pm on Wednesday after hundreds of people caught sight of a fire ball passing through the sky.

"You're never going to believe me but I saw a meteorite, something on fire falling from the sky! "F**king hell I 'm in shock," said one eyewitness.

The regional newspaper Dauphiné Libéré said hundreds of eye-witnesses had contacted them from right across southern France.

Readers described seeing a "green ball with a trail" or a "white ball that exploded followed by a long trail of fire."

One resident in the Alps told Le Parisien newspaper the meteorite "passed pretty low and horizontally and was a big ball of green fire."

A large green meteor streaked across the sky Tuesday evening, prompting dozens of reports to the American Meteor Society.

The fireball was seen from New Jersey and Delaware into southern Virginia around 7:10 p.m. People reported it as green and bright.

It was the second fireball seen in recent weeks in the Mid-Atlantic skies. On Jan. 30, hundreds of people in the D.C. area reported seeing a streaking meteor, and it was even captured on dash cam.

According to the American Meteor Society, fireballs are very bright meteors, about as bright as Venus in the morning and evening skies.

About 10 to 15 meteorites fall to Earth each day, but sightings are rare since streaking fireballs often fall over the ocean, or during daylight hours when they can't be seen.

On a quiet morning on Feb. 15, 2013, a meteor entered the Earth's atmosphere at a speed of 40,000 miles per hour (11 miles per second), exploding over Chelyabinsk, Russia with a reported force of 30 atomic bombs. In fact, the shockwave was allegedly so intense that people reported damage up to 75 miles away from the meteor's explosion, which occurred about nine miles above sea level.

Hundreds of studies have been written since then, but scientists are still trying to figure out where it came from, and how it went undetected. It's not like the rock itself was particularly big—about 65 feet—but it continues to leave a mark. Upon its atmospheric entry, the explosion generated a superbolide that scientists say was brighter than the sun; some eyewitnesses at the time reported feeling an intense heat from the fireball.

It must have truly felt like the end of the world.

About 1,500 people were injured due to broken glass and other debris, though no deaths were reported. Although scientists have an idea of where the Chelyabinsk meteor came from, they're still not 100 percent sure. To that end, researchers also aren't sure if it's part of a larger threat. Following the event in 2013, one researcher said, "If humanity does not want to go the way of the dinosaurs, we need to study an event like this in detail."

The bad news is rocks the size of the Chelyabinsk meteor are undetectable from Earth, which means a similar event could happen at any time.

"Another body of this size could hit Earth without warning in the future," said Jiri Borovicka, as astronomer at the Academy of Science of the Czech Republic.

Source: Agenciasinc

A streak of light, followed by a large flash over Dover, DE on Valentines Day morning.

What is this mysterious flash of light recorded by different cameras in the city of Petrozavodsk, the capital city of the Republic of Karelia, Russia?

Most probably a meteor exploding and lighting up the city for a brief moment on February 11, 2016 just before midnight.

Could their be alien activity in Plymouth? Reports of mysterious flashing lights have been seen across Plymouth's skyline recently, and no explanation can be found for it. Two days ago, a band of Plymouth residents said they saw a bright orange flash in the sky, with many puzzled by the momentary light.

Yesterday, a Plymouth retiree came forward to say she had also witnessed a white flash a few weeks ago, which radiated from the same area as the orange illumination had appeared on February 9. Jenni Robertson was driving home from Bristol when she was dazzled by a white light which lasted for a few seconds. The 66-year-old retiree was making her way back from Flyball training with her collie, Tilli, when she saw the fleeting flash just past Lee Mill on the way into Yealmpton on January 31.

The Staddiscombe resident opted to take a different route home through Lee Mill that evening to avoid roadworks on the A38 by Deep Lane, and as she was driving through a back lane, she spotted the flash to her right of her windscreen. "It was a clear night and quite cold, so I figured it couldn't have been lighting,"

Jenni said. "At around 9:30pm, I saw a huge flash in the sky on my drivers side of the van towards Ivybridge- it wasn't too high as I could see if from the window. "It was just like a speed camera going off- it lasted a couple of seconds and then it was gone again." Jenni didn't think much of the glow until witnesses came forward with claims about a similar orange flash which came from a similar direction.

Ground worker Sam Ho says he was coming out of his house in Yealmpstone Drive at 7am two days ago when he witnessed the dazzling light, as he looked in the direction of Ivybridge. Sam said the massive flash was "quite impressive" and suspects it could have been a meteorite.

Astronomers believe a meteor caused a bright green flash above southeast Winnipeg.

It happened early Wednesday morning around 5:30am.

The Planetarium's Scott Young tells MyToba.ca it was probably a smaller space rock.

"I didn't see it, but based on reports it could've been caused by an object from the size of a quarter up to a basketball."

They're what cause so-called 'shooting stars.' Space is full of them.

Triangulating meteors

Young says the Manitoba Museum collects information about reported sightings.

When the object is large and many reports are collected, astronomers can use the information to triangulate the position.

"We've only had two or three objects in the last twenty years where we've gone out to do a search."

In those cases, they're referred to as fireballs or bolides.

Good luck finding one

Young says the object is usually only visible when it's still kilometres above the planet.

"It actually falls the last dozen or so kilometres without any visible trail. So the odds are, if you saw it in the sky, it didn't land near you."

People from across Queensland have taken to social media to describe what they say was a bright light accompanied by a boom sound. "Was rumbling for a good five minutes before I went outside," said Bundaberg's Jamie-lee Doorey.

"Was walking back from shed, heard something from the sky as I looked up something seemed to have exploded, sparks went in three different directions. "I've seen plenty shooting stars, this was not one, or it was huge. The rumbling continued for a couple of minutes, nothing since."

Margie Ryan, also from Bundaberg, said she was left puzzled by the sighting. "Was inside. Saw bright flash outside. About one minute later, heard a loud bang like a clap of thunder which shook the house a bit," she said.

"Checked the BoM, no storm, clear sky, so posted on Facebook." Gladstone's Rory Henricks said he thought he saw a plane in the sky "shooting fireworks out of its rear". He said at 9.20pm on Tuesday, he was riding from town to Calliope and about halfway saw the object for a second.

"Nothing, then several circular firework explosions in a line behind it, then nothing again," he said. "I flipped my visor up to have a look around, I saw some pilot lights but lost track of it. Was moving really fast and appeared to have jet engines under each wing. "I'm pretty cynical but if it wasn't a UFO it seems like someone was trying to appear like one."

Charlene Kelly Maree said she heard people had seen the object in Gladstone, while Carissa Less Hansen said she witnessed it. "Saw it in Maryborough, Queensland, but didn't hear the noise," she said. Dell Holdings said she saw a flash but thought it was lightening. "It woke me from my sleep, no noise," she said.