Meteor Scotland

The UK Meteor Network, which received more than 200 reports of sightings, said it was investigating whether it was a meteor or space debris.

Witnesses described the sight as “unbelievable” and “much bigger than anything I have ever seen before”. “It looked like it was travelling a fair distance, as these things do, and it was fairly flat across the sky as I saw it,” he said. An investigation “to ascertain what the object was – meteor or space debris” has now been launched.

A “brilliant fireball” seen in the skies above parts of Britain is believed to have been space debris, experts have said.

This one was streaking across the sky for at least 10 seconds – probably longer than that – and it travelled from due south all the way across to the west, so it was a pretty incredible sight.” There have been nearly 800 reports of the fireball that was seen over UK last night. I was sitting in my living room at exactly 10 o’clock last night and saw out of the window, due south, this brilliant fireball, this meteor streaking across the sky, and I could tell that it was something special because I could see through broken cloud. [International](/news/world_news/) Meteor Organisation, and this “indicates that the object, which we now believe to be space debris, would have landed in the Atlantic south of the Hebrides”. The network tweeted: “There have been nearly 800 reports of the fireball that was seen over UK last night.” [of the incident](https://www.heraldscotland.com/news/homenews/21546287.johnstone-meteor-bright-fireball-lights-night-sky/), it is now of the [opinion](/opinion/columnists/) “this was space debris”.

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“It looked to me like it was heading… How can you tell the difference between a meteor and space junk? What is the difference between a meteor and space debris? They said they are currently “investigating to ascertain what the object was - a meteor or space debris.” Where did it land? [UK Meteor Network](https://ukmeteornetwork.co.uk/) confirmed that over 200 people reported witnessing the ‘astronomical sighting’ at 9pm on Wednesday across [Scotland](/topic/scotland) and [Northern Ireland](https://www.scotsman.com/topic/northern-ireland).

UK Meteor Network says they received almost 800 reports of mysterious fireball on Wednesday.

Dr O’Brien, originally from Newcastle, said: “The fact this has happened this week of all times just makes it extra special. [Terms of use,](https://www.independent.co.uk/service/user-policies-a6184151.html) [Cookie policy](https://www.independent.co.uk/service/cookie-policy-a6184186.html) and [Privacy notice.](https://www.independent.co.uk/service/privacy-policy-a6184181.html) The West Coast of Scotland is another possibility. [Privacy policy](https://policies.google.com/privacy?hl=en) and [Terms of service](https://policies.google.com/terms?hl=en) apply. “It’s most likely a meteor. “We think it’s space debris or a meteor but not totally certain. It was a beautiful moment, the main thing about these things is the public looking up at the stars. Dr O’Brien said: “We’ve not seen a Scottish meteor in over 100 years. It’s come at such a shallow angle which is what gives it a long streak. This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google If we found it on Monday that would be perfect. [Scottish Highlands](/topic/scottish-highlands) on Monday, the day of the Queen’s funeral.

According to the leading scientists based in asteroid projection, the most casualties from an asteroid impact won't come from the impact itself, ...

Impact from a meteor is expected only once every 40,000 years, and could land anywhere. If a meteor burns up before hitting the ground, this would cause the airborne side effects that would cause the most casualties. In a direct impact, the effects of gusting wind and surging temperatures are joined by pressure waves, which can rupture internal organs. A pressure wave or heat plume can’t travel very far, and craters only form right at the impact site, but tsunamis can traverse hundreds of kilometres of ocean to hit coastal communities." Upon impact, the meteor will create a crater, shaking the ground around the impact and hurling debris into the air. Clemens Rumpf at the University of Southampton, UK, and his colleagues have calculated the mortality risk, should a meteor hit a residential area. It is twice as likely to have a meteor land in water than in land. Previously, it has been shown that tsunamis pose the greatest risk from meteor impact, but these events are hard to replicate. For an airburst, about 15 per cent of casualties would come from heat. A meteor is what happens when a small piece of an asteroid or comet, called a meteoroid, burns up upon entering Earth's atmosphere. They would occur due to the heat, wind and pressure caused by the crash, and are dangerous across the nation. The difference between an asteroid and a meteor is that an asteroid is a small rocky object that orbits the Sun.

Experts revise initial assumption that sighting was space junk linked to Elon Musk's satellite programme. Fireball in sky.

The fireball observed yesterday above the UK lasted over 20 seconds and travelled north-west, passing directly over Belfast.” He said: “The speed and the way we break it up, is what threw us initially. The network received about 800 sightings of the fireball. Maclean said: “Most people who saw it probably had a rare experience. John Maclean, an astronomer at the network, said: “We’ve analysed it from many more angles. But it withdrew that theory after collecting more data.