Early risers across the country watched in horror, fascination, excitement and awe as what’s thought to have been a burning meteor raced towards earth just before 6am today (Sunday).
The large bright and burning object was seen to split into two before disappearing from sight.
The UK Meteor Network say they had many reports of meteor this morning and share photos and video of it on their Twitter account.
Island sighting
Here on the Isle of Wight Kerry Daniels said she spotted the meteor from Lake Hill.
“It seemed to go on for ages. It eventually broke off into two. I couldn’t believe my eyes. Never seen anything like that before.”
She told OnTheWight,
“I wish more people had seen it. It’s the most amazing thing I’ve seen.”
Were you up early and spotted the meteor? Do you have photos or video? Feel free to send to us so we can share with our readers.
Plymouth police called to ‘plane crash’
Just before 6am Police in Plymouth were called to reports of a ‘plane crash’ but after deploying helicopters to search the area, they were satisfied there had not been a plane crash.
Insp Shuttleworth said:
“We are as satisfied as we can be that this has not been a light aircraft crash.
“The expert opinion of trained search officers is that if there had been an aircraft crash, assets in the air would have seen some debris.
“There have also been a couple of reports from the Cardiff and Dorset areas of people watching meteor showers across the South West.”
Difference between asteroid and meteor
Nasa give this easy to understand explanation:
The Short Answer: An asteroid is a small rocky object that orbits the Sun. … A meteor is what happens when a meteoroid – a small piece of an asteroid or comet – burns up upon entering Earth’s atmosphere, creating a streak of light in the sky. An asteroid is a small rocky object that orbits the Sun.
Image: © UK Meteor Network
