WATCH: Giant 'missile' meteor spotted streaking over UK skies and exploding as it plunges to Earth

An observatory in Sidmouth, Devon has spotted a meteor over the UK



The explosive fireball was seen in the early hours of the morning



It became extremely bright high up in the atmosphere after burning up



Then believed to have broken into pieces before damaging nearby ground



Comes on 106th anniversary of Russian Tunguska meteor impact event



A fireball originating from space has been spotted streaking over the UK on camera.

The ‘bolide’ meteor was spotted over the West Country, Wales and the West Midlands in the early hours of this morning.

The rock did not cause any damage – but it serves as a reminder of how vulnerable our planet is to enormous objects hurtling through space.



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A meteor has been spotted streaking over skies of the UK. It was caught on two camera operated by the Norman Lockyer Observatory in Sidmoth, Devon, shown here in this still from a video. It did not cause any damage but shows how vulnerable our planet can be to space rocks such as asteroids and comets

The discovery was made by cameras at the Norman Lockyer Observatory in Sidmouth, Devon at 03:04 BST.



WHAT IS A BOLIDE?

There is no official definition of a bolide, but it is generally taken to be a fireball.

It comes from the Greek 'bolis', which means missile.

Particularly bright meteors, such as the one spotted in the UK today, that burn up in the atmosphere are generally regarded as bolides.

Fireballs that explode in the upper atmosphere are also known as bolides.

Bolides that reach exceptional brightness are known as superbolides.

Events such as this in the UK are rare, so spotting one on camera is a huge achievement.



Dave Jones of the UK Meteor Observation Network (UKMON) said it was by far the largest fireball ever spotted by the observatory.



Some eyewitnesses are reported to have said it was green in colour.



And it was said to even cast shadows due to its brightness.

Astronomers at the Norman Lockyer Observatory in Sidmouth heard reports that a massive shooting star had been spotted streaking across the sky in the early hours.

They rewound the observatory’s two fixed cameras and were thrilled to find a perfect clip of a flaming meteor arcing across the sky at 3:04am before disappearing behind clouds.

'We have two cameras that watch for meteors during darkness, so upon hearing the news I logged in to check our data and see if we had captured anything,' said Jones.

'Fortunately the meteor passed in front of both of our cameras so we ended up with two videos of the same event.

'Due to cloud and raindrops on the camera lenses the image was not as clear as we would like, however the sheer size and brightness of this object burning up in our atmosphere almost overwhelmed our cameras as it was so bright.'

Mr Jones said Monday’s meteor was the largest the amateur team have caught on camera since the monitoring equipment was rigged up a year ago.

They are currently studying the footage to get a better idea of its trajectory.

Built in 1912 and situated 15 miles south of Exeter, the Norman Lockyer Observatory is used by students, researchers and amateur astronomers.

Thanks to its coastal location and the lack of light pollution, it is renowned as one of the best places in the UK for spectral analysis.



This meteor comes on the 106th anniversary of the Tunguska event. On 30 June 1908 a giant explosion occurred over the Tunguska River in Russia, believed to have been caused by an asteroid or comet exploding in the atmosphere. It flattened 770 square miles (2,000 square kilometres) of forest (picture taken in 1929)

Reports suggest after entering the atmosphere this meteor broke up into pieces after the huge brightening event.



Meteors that enter our atmosphere often undergo this intense event as they are heated during re-entry.



On occasion rocks make it all the way through and impact the ground, forming craters.



More often than not though the debris merely burns up in the atmosphere, in some cases as a super-heated fireball known as a bolide.



Some even explode in the upper atmosphere and, if they’re big enough, can cause widespread damage just like the Tunguska event 106 years ago.

On 30 June 1908 a giant explosion occurred over the Tunguska River in Russia, believed to have been caused by an asteroid or comet exploding in the atmosphere.



The Tunguska event, as it would be known, flattened 770 square miles (2,000 square kilometres) of forest.



And on its 106th anniversary the UK has experienced a Tunguska event of its own, albeit on a much smaller scale.