A meteor that lit up the skies over Scotland and was captured on camera Monday cruised through its trajectory, alarming residents that caught a glimpse of the "fireball." The event took place at around 6:45 p.m. local time and could be seen over the cities of Aberdeen and Inverness.
After residents witnessed the event, the local police station began to receive a barrage of calls from people who reported seeing the lights in the sky and the loud rumble that came along with it, with some even reporting that their homes shook in response. Furthermore, some claim that they saw it burn up in the atmosphere above Pertshire.
"We have checked and been told it was likely a meteor shower," a spokeswoman from the station said.
"What you've seen is a piece of rock from outer space that has crashed into the earth," St. Andrews University professor Keith Horne said. "When it hits the atmosphere, it starts to burn up ... It releases all this energy into the atmosphere, which will cause a bright flash and sometimes bits of this explode."
Given the rumbling sound emitted from the metoer, Horne claims that it was likely around three inches wide, and the flash indicates that its speed was around 18 miles per second. He believes that it most likely burnt up at an altitude of 20 miles, leaving no pieces alive to reach the Earth.
Jenni Morrison of Aberdeenshire saw the meteor right as it entered the atmosphere and says that "it was the most surreal thing I have ever experienced."
"I looked at my son, he looked at me and then it just went black again. It really didn't last long at all - literally seconds," she said. "We didn't realize what it was at the time until we looked back on my dash-cam. We saw the ball of light over the trees on the left side coming down at some speed and then a massive flash. It was scary and amazing at the same time."
The news comes shortly after scientists announced their planned development of laser weapon arrays to deflect asteroids, meteors and other near-Earth objects that pose a threat to Earth.
