Residents of several counties in England were startled late Saturday afternoon by loud thumping noise. After careful consideration, meteorologists and other experts have come to the conclusion that the sound was caused by a very rare meteor known as a “daytime fireball.” The sonic boom could be heard in Dorset, Somerset, Devon and Jersey, after a streak of light in the sky. The experts concluded it was a meteor, using photos and videos taken by multiple people and automated camera systems. Residents have been asked to keep abreast of fallen fragments from the space rock. The meteor is believed to have crashed into the Bristol Channel.
According to BBC, a specialist in aviation meteorology at the University of Oxford – Simon Proud – captured the meteor flying over the UK on a weather satellite. It reportedly seemed like a bright flash on the system.
The set of meteors that can produce a ‘daytime fireball’ is the brightest of the ‘bolide’ class, according to Richard Kacerek of the British Meteor Observation Network of amateur astronomers. To be seen during the day, like the one spotted on Saturday, it has to be very large.
As reported in YahooIan Dryhust, riding Jersey in the Channel Islands, captured the fireball as bright light crossing the sky on his dashcam footage.
Astro enthusiasts from these countries are already looking for evidence of the space rock.
Dr. Ashley King told me BBC that the fireball must have “gone faster than the speed of sound.” King is a member of the UK Fireball Alliance, a group of enthusiasts / experts who hunt for freshly fallen meteorites.
Experts manage data from security / traffic / amateur cameras to analyze and track the meteor’s path. In February, such cameras captured a falling meteor at night. It is uncertain whether it also works during the day.
The loud bang had initially confused the residents of the above site. Some wondered if it was an earthquake, that one The British Geological Survey excluded. Others wondered if some military planes were causing the noise, but the Department of Defense stated that the “huge bang was unrelated to any RAF aircraft”.
Astronomer and science journalist Will Gater was the first to associate the sound with a meteor, which is now accepted by the majority.
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