Residents of several counties in England were shaken by loud noise late Saturday afternoon. After careful deliberation, meteorologists and other experts came to the conclusion that the noise was caused by a very rare meteor, known as a “day fireball”. The sound boom was heard in Dorset, Somerset, Devon and Jersey, after a streak of light in the sky. Experts have deduced that it is a meteorite, using images and videos made by several people and automatic camera systems. Residents were asked to consider any fragments of fallen space rocks. The meteorite is believed to have collapsed in the Bristol Channel.
Conformable BBC, an aerial meteorologist at Oxford University – Simon Proud – captured the meteorite flying over the UK on a weather satellite. It appears to have appeared as a bright flash on the system.
The pile of meteors that can produce a “fireball during the day” is the brightest in the “fireball” class, according to Richard Kacerek of the British Astronomers’ Observation Network. To be seen during the day, like the one observed on Saturday, it must be very large.
As reported in Yahoo, Ian Dryhust, driving on Jersey in the Channel Islands, caught the ball of fire like a bright light crossing the sky on his footage from the dashboard.
Astro-enthusiasts in these counties are already looking for evidence of space rock.
Said Dr. Ashley King BBC that the fireball must have “gone faster than the speed of sound.” King is a member of the UK Fireball Alliance, a group of enthusiasts / experts who hunt freshly fallen meteorites.
Experts clean data from security / traffic / amateur cameras to analyze and track the meteor’s path. In February, such cameras caught a falling meteor at night. You can’t be sure if it works during the day.
The loud noise had initially confused the inhabitants of the aforementioned site. Some have wondered if there was an earthquake, which British Geological Survey excluded. Others wondered if some military planes made the noise, but the Defense Ministry said “the massive explosion is not related to any RAF aircraft.”
Astronomer and science journalist Will Gater was the first to link the noise to a meteorite, which is now widely accepted.
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