Scientists confirm fireball seen above North East was meteor

A video of the meteor blazing through the night sky was captured by Northumberland Astro

Scientists have confirmed that a fireball spotted in the skies above the North East was a meteor.

The impressive sight was captured by a number of cameras across the region at around 12.23am in the early hours of Monday morning (13 April).

The International Meteor Organization received reports of sightings of the fireball from members of the public in many parts of the North East and North Yorkshire including Sunderland, Hartlepool, Stockton, Darlington and Scarborough.

John Maclean from the UK Meteor Observation Network told ITV Tyne Tees that their analysis has confirmed it was a "sporadic meteor" which was not linked to any meteor shower.

He also said it was travelling at a speed of 8.3km per second, and that it burned up over the North Sea.

The dazzling display was also captured on camera by Peter McConnell in Thornaby and Zak Flooring in Scarborough

Meanwhile, the UK Fireball Alliance said they received reports of the meteor from far and wide.

The organisation's secretary, Dr Charlotte Bays, said: "UKFAll received close to 200 eye-witness reports from the general public in the UK and across much of northwestern Europe.

"The colour of the fireball largely reflects the ionized chemical elements released as a meteor travels through the Earth's atmosphere - in this case, the blue-green colour likely reflects the magnesium or perhaps nickel content.

"Meteorites derive from a variety of celestial bodies, including asteroids and, more rarely, moons and planets.

"As such, meteorites can tell us a great deal about Solar System formation and how life emerged, which is why it is important for us to recover and study them."

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