Giant Meteor Lights Up The Sky Over France, United Kingdom

The recent meteor fireball that lit up the night sky in France and the United Kingdom has prompted astronomers and meteorite experts to conduct new studies.

A dazzling light suddenly pierces the blackness of the night till it fades on the opposite end of the sky, as seen in videos and photographs that have gone viral on the internet.

While several witnesses reported hearing an explosion nearby, Twitter user Nicolas Arzur uploaded a video recorded on the camera of the port at the Arzal dam in France.

Will Gater, an astronomer, re-posted the video on Twitter, asking others who recorded the meteor fireball to submit it with the UK Meteor Network.

Cameras Saw Flash Of Blue Light In France

Around 11:47 p.m. local time, many cameras in Brittany, France captured a brief flash of blue light in the sky. According to Express, which cited news station France Bleu, the flash "brought back the day" for a few seconds at the recorded time.

There was a weird beam of light on Brest and the North Coast in France.

According to the statement of Gurvan Musset, director of France Bleu Breizh Izel, the flare lasted a few seconds. It was followed by a "huge explosion."

When the event occurred, French meteorologist Stéven Tual was traveling between Rennes and Saint-Brieuc in France.

He told FranceInfo (per the same Express report) that the night was clear. He then observed an object, which truly illuminated the sky with a green-white color.

Several boats become visible in the footage of the meteorite as if they were in broad daylight.

The event was also observed in Morbihan, where a light traversing the sky was captured on a webcam near the port of Arzal.

Meteor Might Have Landed On Coast Of France

Initial reports obtained by Hampshire Live claimed that the meteor spotted across the UK may have landed off the coast of France.

Early indications show that a fireball dropped into the water off the coast of France, according to the UK Meteor Network and SCAMP, two meteor-tracking organizations.

An early trajectory map was produced, showing the fireball approaching from the west coast of France, passing over part of the continent, and crashing into the sea south of Guernsey and Jersey. The exact location of the landing has yet to be determined.

Meteor Seen In France, UK Was About a Handful of Rocks

Jim Rowe of the UK Fireball Alliance told BBC the meteor seen in UK and France was around the size of a handful of rocks.

He believes it was a fragment of an asteroid or comet that hit the atmosphere at a "very high speed and a rather shallow angle." The meteor detonated when the atmosphere's pressure got too much.

While millions of smaller asteroids are barely visible every night, Rowe said brilliant ones like those circulating on social media are rarely seen three or four times a year in the UK.

It was much bigger when it struck the atmosphere, Rowe explained. But he said what people are witnessing when it comes in as a meteor is it being crushed by the heat and pressure created when it enters the atmosphere.

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