Door Cameras Spot Meteor

A fireball meteor was seen through the night sky by Essex residents on 09 January.

02:09 11 January 2023

A number of CCTV cameras across Essex caught a fireball meteor streaking through the night sky on 09 January. Several people also reported seeing a bright light travelling across the sky. 

The MET Office took to Twitter to confirm that the meteor was seen shortly after 8pm. This was followed by several people sharing pictures and videos on various social media platforms. 

Meanwhile, a space expert confirmed that it was "specifically a fireball". According to NASA, a fireball is an "unusually bright meteor that reaches a visual magnitude of -3 or brighter when seen at the observer's zenith. Objects causing fireball events can exceed one meter in size." 

Dhara Patel, Space Expert at the National Space Centre, said: "With a clear night over parts of the UK, there have been lots of images and videos shared across social media of a fireball, which lit up the sky around 8.01pm. People from across the south of the country and even in Wales were able to spot it and report it to the UK Meteor Network and UK Fireball Alliance.

"The object in question is most likely a meteor, or specifically a fireball due to its bright nature. It’s a piece of space debris burning up in the atmosphere. The object in question may have been over a metre in size to materialise as a fireball.

"We’re still in the window of the Quadrantid meteor shower and although the peak has passed, the Quadrantids are known for their bright fireballs. These explosions of light persist for longer than an average meteor streak due to their larger size, and the golden trail with a blue-white core reported by many, is consistent with Quadrantid meteors."