A fireball seen in several parts of northern England has been confirmed as a meteorite. But at first there was confusion about his identity for a day, says The Guardian.
The event was visible after 22:00 on Wednesday in areas with clear skies in northern parts of England, Northern Ireland and Scotland.
Now identified as a meteorite, the fireball was initially thought to be space debris that may have come from Elon Musk’s Starlink satellite project.
The reason? The fireball traveled slower than a regular meteorite. But, after more data was collected, that theory was debunked.
“We looked at it from a lot more angles. It’s definitely a meteorite. It’s probably a small piece of a broken asteroid,” explained John Maclean, one of the astronomers who studied the case.
“We think it may have fallen 50 to 100 km from Islay. It would be at the bottom of the ocean now,” he added.
The meteor traveled through Wales, the Irish Sea and Belfast before plunging into the Atlantic Ocean.
“Most people who saw the fireball probably had a rare experience. The speed and the way it split was a little strange,” he concluded.
“Total creator. Devoted tv fanatic. Communicator. Evil pop culture buff. Social media advocate.”
