Hundreds of people in the UK witnessed a fascinating mystery on Wednesday night that almost wholly skipped over their heads. A massive fireball with unidentified sources rushed across the sky, confusing hundreds of witnesses in Scotland, Ireland, and England.
Numerous cameras recorded the quickly moving flame at about 10 p.m. local time. While the video showed it speeding across the clouds surrounded by a broad light halo, other witnesses claimed it seemed green.
According to the UK Meteor Network, a citizen science initiative that uses 170 detection cameras to capture meteors and fireballs across the U.K., there were around 800 reports of the fireball. The International Meteor Organization received over a thousand.
The International Meteor Organization (IMO) asserts that the fireball originated in a triangle formed by Northern Ireland, the Isle of Man, and northern England, however, the fireball’s specific origin and landing places are still unknown. Before touching down in the water south of the Hebrides, it then made its way north and slightly west.
The fact that the lightning strike was most likely not a meteor, on the other hand, seems certain. Astronomer Jonathan McDowell thinks that, despite the lack of confirmation, it is improbable that the fireball is Elon Musk’s SpaceX based on its trajectory. Most likely, according to researchers, it was space debris.
The fireball lasted for about 20 seconds, which is a lengthy period for a meteor but is consistent with space trash, according to the UK Meteor Network.
There have been nearly 800 reports of the fireball that was seen over UK last night. The preliminary trajectory has been calculated by the IMO and indicates that the object, which we now believe to be space debris, would have landed in the Atlantic south of the Hebrides. pic.twitter.com/skSvl0YH5Y
— UK Meteor Network (@UKMeteorNetwork) September 15, 2022
