Did you see it this week?
A fireball that was seen over many parts of Ireland and the UK this week has been confirmed as a meteor.
The fireball was visible as it blazed across the night sky just after 10pm on Wednesday night, with many people reporting sightings on social media.
Scientists have used video footage captured by the public to determine whether the object was space junk or a meteor, and also where it came from, with the UK Meteor Network confirming it was a meteor.
Space rock that enters Earth’s atmosphere is called a meteor, but fragments that survive the journey to reach the ground are called meteorites.
BREAKING 🚨: Large meteor spotted burning up over Scotland and Northern Ireland pic.twitter.com/EpqXvpeZd4
— Latest in space (@latestinspace) September 15, 2022
According to calculations by the UK Meteor Network, it travelled 300km above Wales, the Irish Sea and Belfast before crashing into the Atlantic near the Scottish island, Islay.
“It came on an asteroidal orbit and entered the atmosphere at 14.2 km/s,” the network tweeted. “The observed portion of the trajectory covered over 300km.
“If any meteorites did fall, they ended up in the ocean.”
The group added that it is “100% confident” that it was a meteor.
In a statement, the network said: “The fireball over Northern Ireland and Scotland last night was definitely a meteor. The fireball observed yesterday above the UK lasted over 20 seconds and travelled north-west, passing directly over Belfast.”
This article originally appeared on Joe.ie.
Header image via UK Meteor Network
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