UK meteor: Stargazers stunned as ‘huge white ball’ zips across night sky - Met Office confirms sighting

The Met Office confirmed a meteor had been spotted just after 8pm on Monday and was visible for most of the country
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A meteor was spotted hurtling through the sky in the UK, dazzling stargazers all over the country. The Met Office confirmed that the meteor had been spotted just after 8pm on Monday (January 9).

For most of the country, it was a clear night meaning it was visible to members of the public. The Met Office tweeted that reports of a meteor were rife, asking people to send videos if they had them.

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This sparked a flurry of responses from people lucky enough to see the meteor burn up after entering Earth’s atmosphere. It was seen by hundreds from Wolves to West Sussex and Birmingham to Bristol.

Meteors are pieces of debris that enter the Earth’s atmosphere. They can travel as fast as 43 miles per second and vaporise, causing streaks in the sky. People on social media were amazed at what they saw.

A Twitter user said: "I saw a huge white ball, red surround, long trail of shooting stars type tail, couldn’t believe my eyes. Beautiful. If I was elsewhere or looking away I would have missed it. Amazing."

The UK is subject to multiple meteor showers throughout the year. The Royal Observatory has released a full list of meteor showers in the UK, when they will arrive, how many we could possibly see and what they may look like.

List of meteor showers in the UK in 2023

Quadrantids - January 3 - 4

Lyrids - April 22 - 23

Eta Aquariids - May 6

Alpha Capricornids - July 30

Delta Aquariids - July 30

Perseids - August 12 - 13

Draconids - October 8 - 9

Orionids - October 21 - 22

Taurids - November 12 - 13

Leonids - November 17 - 18

Geminids - December 14 - 15

Ursids - December 22 - 23