Entire houses and windows jolted as a result of shock waves caused by a mysterious meteor that visited the Earth’s atmosphere on Saturday afternoon. It was a rare type of meteor that researchers even believe to be faster than sound. Although the unusual event happened during the daytime, people living in Dorset, Somerset, Devon, and Jersey were able to spot the meteor due to its imposing brightness.
The news of the sonic boom caused by the meteor flying over the UK comes from BBC, and experts even urged people to look for and report any fallen fragments coming from the space rock.
Simon Proud is a specialist in aviation meteorology from the University of Oxford, and he captured footage of the meteor:
Sometimes weather sats see unexpected things.
Do you see the flash in this video? That's a #meteor flying over the UK this afternoon!đSpotted thanks to @willgater's excellent detective work! https://t.co/Ia7f39UJsh
Data: @eumetsat
Processed: @OxfordPhysics / @NCEOscience. pic.twitter.com/I7PSQBnQu5— Simon Proud (@simon_sat) March 20, 2021
Dr. Ashley King is the UK Fireball Allience, and he said that the meteor ‘would have been going faster than the speed of sound.
âNormally when you hear that itâs a good sign that you have some rocks that have made it to the surface,â King also said to the BBC. âItâs incredibly exciting and Iâm a bit stunned.â
We heard it at East Fleet Touring Park in Weymouth. Sounded much louder in real life than on the clip. pic.twitter.com/mxjwI6Do6E
— East Fleet Touring Park (@EastFleetFarm) March 20, 2021
The fireball belongs to the category of very rare bolide class meteors. This means that the meteor was extremely bright – so bright that it can be easily detected during the daytime. The sonic boom noise could be explained by the possible explosion of the meteor right at the entrance in Earth’s atmosphere.
Bolides are so bright that they can even reach the full Moon’s intensity, meaning the brightest object from the night sky. Generally speaking, a full Moon’s brightness cannot be compared with anything else. The second brightest object from our night sky is Venus, and it’s significantly behind the Moon’s intensity.
