A bright meteor described as a green flash has been sighted across Britain in the early hours, with reports from locations including London, Hampshire, Stafford, and the east coast of England at 03:16 GMT. Witnesses described the object moving from south to north for a few seconds, leaving a magnesium-white trail.
Dr John Mason of the British Astronomical Association called the meteor 'spectacular', noting it was bright enough to be classified as a fireball. He said the green colour was caused by the meteor heating oxygen in the Earth's atmosphere, and that the object likely came from the asteroid belt between Mars and Jupiter. 'Meteors of this kind are not uncommon,' he added, estimating at least one occurs over the UK each week.
Richard Kacerek from the UK Meteor Observation Network told the BBC the network had received reports from across the country, and its camera at Church Crookham in Hampshire captured the meteor from the west. 'This is the biggest meteor sighting we have recorded,' he said, noting it was seen for hundreds of miles. The network records about 10 to 15 meteors annually.
Dr Karen Masters, an astronomer at the University of Portsmouth, said thousands of such objects hit Earth daily, mostly over oceans or uninhabited areas. 'It is quite rare that one goes over such a populated place and be so bright,' she said, estimating the meteor was probably as big as a tennis ball. Meteors are small rocks or debris that burn up entering the atmosphere; to be called a fireball, they must appear brighter than Venus.
