Fireball spotted in the sky

There were perfect weather conditions particularly in Yorkshire last night for catching sight of what appeared to be a small stream of meteors with a large fireball.

Solid particles from outer space (Meteoroids) come in to contact with the earth’s atmosphere. When they do they get hot and break up, often emitting light, - becoming what is commonly known as a meteor, a fireball or shooting star.

Thousands of meteoroids come into contact with the Earth each year but last night’s weather conditions were favourable – clear skies and very good visibility.

In the UK there are seasonal meteor showers, the most common being The Perseids in August and The Leonids in mid November. The next shower to come into contact with the Earth is The Draconids in early October.

Almost all meteors that fall to Earth disappear long before reaching its surface. It would only have become a Meteorite if any of the original solid, interplanetary particles had come into contact with the ground.

The ‘fireball’ on Friday night was not part of a ‘shower’ but a small stream of debris. It seemed unusually large and therefore more obvious and easier to see.

Here are some of your pictures:

The emergency services took to twitter after receiving calls from members of the public over the reports of fireballs in the sky.

To see more meteor sightings from across the country click here.