Meteor exploded so brightly it triggered doorbell cams across Northern England
Residents in northern England and Scotland were treated to a spectacular celestial display this week when a suspected bolide exploded as it struck the Earth's atmosphere.
The night skies over northern England exploded into light for a brief second courtesy of the huge flash, with residents marvelling at what it might be, anything from a military test to a crashing plane.
Thankfully, several people received alerts of suspicious activity on their doorbell cameras, only to discover they had, in fact, managed to record the ethereal, extraterrestrial effulgence.
21:17:50. Washington UK pic.twitter.com/b6dzGZT5md
— Louise M (@LouiseMety) February 19, 2021
Taken from my dashcam on drive home. Warning, loud music. pic.twitter.com/KNw7KCqebE
— Chris (@Chainz45) February 19, 2021
“I’ve seen meteors before but this one I was stunned by the colour, the length of the fireball and the length of time it was in the sky,” said one stunned resident.
Reports streamed in to the International Meteor Organization (IMO) and the UK Meteor Network from all over the northern UK about the celestial pyrotechnics display, which occurred at roughly 21:20 local time.
Last night we got some really interesting meteors pic.twitter.com/cBYM51H228
— UK Meteor Network (@UKMeteorNetwork) February 19, 2021
Multiple visual reports of a fireball over Scotland last night (18th Feb '21). Denis Buczynski's south facing camera (in Tarbatness) detected it at 21:17:49, at an almost due south azimuth, passing just to the left of Orion. Hoping others caught it too. pic.twitter.com/74T1lRcAU0
— William Stewart (@nemetodemeteor) February 19, 2021
“Due to the velocity at which they strike the Earth’s atmosphere, fragments larger than one millimetre have the capability to produce a bright flash as they streak through the heavens above,” the IMO says, in describing these bolides.
My sister got this from a work mate. Camera location Ashington Northld facing approx NNE. Time 21:18. pic.twitter.com/vKaAqcSfEh
— Rob Kent (@xwindross) February 18, 2021
Last night there were lots of Meteor sightings throughout the UK @UKMeteorNetwork one of my cameras picked up this Meteor at 22:08 ! missed the earlier fireball ! 🧐 pic.twitter.com/fPtGSaKiJA
— Paul Bunyard (@wildaboutimages) February 19, 2021
The hundreds of people across Northumberland who witnessed the event were perfectly positioned as it turns out the area holds Dark Sky Park status, meaning it has a particularly good view of such stunning spectacles, rivalled only by places like Death Valley and Big Bend Dark Sky Parks in the US.
These areas are protected for their exceptional night-time skies so they can be used in astronomical, scientific and educational research.
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