Brightly burning meteor lights up the night sky in Japan

A meteor dazzled the skies of Japan as it plunged from the sky.

Many people in western Japan reported on social media seeing the rare sight at 1.35am on Sunday.

The meteor is thought to be a bolide, a type of bright shooting star. Social media users reported it made a "rumbling sound".

NHK public television said its cameras in the central prefectures of Aichi, Mie and elsewhere captured the fireball in the southern sky.

A camera at Nagoya port showed the meteor shining as brightly as a full moon as it neared the Earth, the Asahi newspaper reported.

Some experts said small fragments of the meteorite might have reached the ground.

• 'Oldest solid material' discovered in meteorite that fell to Earth fifty years ago

• First meteor shower of 2020 set to light up night skies – here’s how to watch