This is the moment a suspected meteor lit up the sky over Scotland last night and terrified the population below.
People from Inverness to Edinburgh reported a white, red or blue light that swept across the skyline at around 6.45pm last night.
Witnesses described a rumbling noise lasting up to ten seconds before the pitch black Scottish evening turned bright white and a fireball swept across the horizon.
Kim Paterson of Brechin, Angus, tweeted: 'Proper massive rumble, ground shaking, folk seeing the sky flash... is this the end?!'
Police Scotland said it received a number of 999 calls and confirmed it was likely to be a meteor while the Met Office confirmed there had been no thunder storms over Scotland.
There were suggestions it could have been a sonic boom from an aircraft or a flare from a satellite.
There were no reports of aircraft in distress, while the MoD said it was unaware of any events in the area - but would not comment on claims it was linked to an aircraft.
Astronomers last night said it was most likely to be a meteor burning up as it came into contact with the Earth's atmosphere.
The mystery 'meteor' that turned night into day: Giant fireball lights up the horizon across Scotland and leaves onlookers terrified
Thousands of people saw hug flash of light from Inverness to Edinburgh
Light followed by rolling bang that some thought was satellite sonic boom
Twitter lit up with speculation over the event, which made ground shake
Police and the MoD said they were unaware of what could have caused it
By Maureen Sugden For The Scottish Daily Mail and Martin Robinson, Uk Chief Reporter For Mailonline
1 March 2016
Daily Mail
This is the moment a suspected meteor lit up the sky over Scotland last night and terrified the population below.
People from Inverness to Edinburgh reported a white, red or blue light that swept across the skyline at around 6.45pm last night.
Witnesses described a rumbling noise lasting up to ten seconds before the pitch black Scottish evening turned bright white and a fireball swept across the horizon.
Kim Paterson of Brechin, Angus, tweeted: 'Proper massive rumble, ground shaking, folk seeing the sky flash... is this the end?!'
Police Scotland said it received a number of 999 calls and confirmed it was likely to be a meteor while the Met Office confirmed there had been no thunder storms over Scotland.
Clear: This footage, also from a dashcam, shows the meteor entering the picture in the top left of the screen - turning the sky white and blue
Terror: Witnesses described a rumbling noise lasting up to ten seconds before the pitch black Scottish evening turned bright white and a fireball swept across the horizon
Close up: This footage taken near Ayr shows a clear trail of debris as the suspected meteor burned up in the atmosphere
People from Inverness to Edinburgh reported a white, red or blue light that swept across the skyline at around 6.45pm last night
There were suggestions it could have been a sonic boom from an aircraft or a flare from a satellite.
There were no reports of aircraft in distress, while the MoD said it was unaware of any events in the area - but would not comment on claims it was linked to an aircraft.
Astronomers last night said it was most likely to be a meteor burning up as it came into contact with the Earth's atmosphere.
The meteor is likely to have burned up but people are searching for debris.
On Twitter, Jake Logan said: 'Flash in the sky that lit up Braemar like daylight, followed by a huge rolling bang like thunder that lasted 10 secs. Sky is clear.'
John Poyner of Nethy Bridge, Inverness-shire, said: 'Anyone local just see a bright flash lighting up whole sky. Not lightning. Reports of brilliant meteor like object.'
A Police Scotland spokesman said they began receiving calls at around 6.55pm on Monday evening.
She said: 'One told us the sky had been lit up with an object like a fireball. Another caller said there was a very loud bang and others said the house shook.
'We know police in Inverness and in the south also received calls - it was seen by people across Scotland.
'We have checked and been told it was likely to be a meteor shower.'
Footage: This driver's dashcam shows how dark it was in the Highlands before the fireball swept across the sky
Eerie: Suddenly the night sky begins to brighten as the suspected meteor entered the night sky
Bright: The skyline turned orange and pink as the flare entered the right edge of the skyline seen here from a car
Dramatic: This is the moment a suspected meteor lit up the pitch black sky across Scotland at around 6.45pm last night
The bright white streak across the night sky sparked speculation on social media whether it was an astronomical event, military activity or, perhaps more far-fetched, linked to British astronaut Tim Peake.
Inverness SNP member Jackie Hendry tweeted: 'Did anyone else see that big white flash in the sky ... I reckon it was Tim Peake.'
Madcow-paula tweeted: 'LOL ... some reckon @astro-timpeake dropped something causing a big white flash in the sky over Scotland this evening!'
SteveCDT1986 tweeted:'Big white flash and some sort of meteor in the night sky. Looked really close aswell. #endoftheworld #armageddon.'
@Colsuth tweeted: 'saw it here in Moray just as we were passing RAF Lossie. Thought it was from there.'
A Ministry of Defence spokeswoman said they would not discuss if there was any link to any operations in the area.
STV weather forecaster Sean Batty said: 'I've had lots of tweets from around the North and East of the country this evening, with people reporting a loud bang and a large flash in the sky. Most tweets have come from around Perthshire, Angus, Aberdeenshire and Moray.
'There are no thunderstorms being reported anywhere in Scotland this evening. Therefore this is not due to a flash of lightning. My only conclusion would be that this is indeed a meteor which has burned up and exploded during entry into our upper atmosphere.'
In 2013, a meteor that exploded over Russia was found by scientists to be 30 times brighter than the Sun, with the force of 40 Hiroshima atom bombs. Their analysis confirmed it was the biggest in a century.
The 62ft-wide meteor exploded in a fireball above Chelyabinsk, causing damage up to 50 miles away. At its fastest, it was travelling at more than 40,000mph.
'It has burned up and exploded'.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CTHD...GsKWLa4eMFjND-98wUFof9FKaKhoZxWEpibbvw7lJljeA
People from Inverness to Edinburgh reported a white, red or blue light that swept across the skyline at around 6.45pm last night.
Witnesses described a rumbling noise lasting up to ten seconds before the pitch black Scottish evening turned bright white and a fireball swept across the horizon.
Kim Paterson of Brechin, Angus, tweeted: 'Proper massive rumble, ground shaking, folk seeing the sky flash... is this the end?!'
Police Scotland said it received a number of 999 calls and confirmed it was likely to be a meteor while the Met Office confirmed there had been no thunder storms over Scotland.
There were suggestions it could have been a sonic boom from an aircraft or a flare from a satellite.
There were no reports of aircraft in distress, while the MoD said it was unaware of any events in the area - but would not comment on claims it was linked to an aircraft.
Astronomers last night said it was most likely to be a meteor burning up as it came into contact with the Earth's atmosphere.
The mystery 'meteor' that turned night into day: Giant fireball lights up the horizon across Scotland and leaves onlookers terrified
Thousands of people saw hug flash of light from Inverness to Edinburgh
Light followed by rolling bang that some thought was satellite sonic boom
Twitter lit up with speculation over the event, which made ground shake
Police and the MoD said they were unaware of what could have caused it
By Maureen Sugden For The Scottish Daily Mail and Martin Robinson, Uk Chief Reporter For Mailonline
1 March 2016
Daily Mail
This is the moment a suspected meteor lit up the sky over Scotland last night and terrified the population below.
People from Inverness to Edinburgh reported a white, red or blue light that swept across the skyline at around 6.45pm last night.
Witnesses described a rumbling noise lasting up to ten seconds before the pitch black Scottish evening turned bright white and a fireball swept across the horizon.
Kim Paterson of Brechin, Angus, tweeted: 'Proper massive rumble, ground shaking, folk seeing the sky flash... is this the end?!'
Police Scotland said it received a number of 999 calls and confirmed it was likely to be a meteor while the Met Office confirmed there had been no thunder storms over Scotland.
Clear: This footage, also from a dashcam, shows the meteor entering the picture in the top left of the screen - turning the sky white and blue
Terror: Witnesses described a rumbling noise lasting up to ten seconds before the pitch black Scottish evening turned bright white and a fireball swept across the horizon
Close up: This footage taken near Ayr shows a clear trail of debris as the suspected meteor burned up in the atmosphere
People from Inverness to Edinburgh reported a white, red or blue light that swept across the skyline at around 6.45pm last night
There were suggestions it could have been a sonic boom from an aircraft or a flare from a satellite.
There were no reports of aircraft in distress, while the MoD said it was unaware of any events in the area - but would not comment on claims it was linked to an aircraft.
Astronomers last night said it was most likely to be a meteor burning up as it came into contact with the Earth's atmosphere.
The meteor is likely to have burned up but people are searching for debris.
On Twitter, Jake Logan said: 'Flash in the sky that lit up Braemar like daylight, followed by a huge rolling bang like thunder that lasted 10 secs. Sky is clear.'
John Poyner of Nethy Bridge, Inverness-shire, said: 'Anyone local just see a bright flash lighting up whole sky. Not lightning. Reports of brilliant meteor like object.'
A Police Scotland spokesman said they began receiving calls at around 6.55pm on Monday evening.
She said: 'One told us the sky had been lit up with an object like a fireball. Another caller said there was a very loud bang and others said the house shook.
'We know police in Inverness and in the south also received calls - it was seen by people across Scotland.
'We have checked and been told it was likely to be a meteor shower.'
Footage: This driver's dashcam shows how dark it was in the Highlands before the fireball swept across the sky
Eerie: Suddenly the night sky begins to brighten as the suspected meteor entered the night sky
Bright: The skyline turned orange and pink as the flare entered the right edge of the skyline seen here from a car
Dramatic: This is the moment a suspected meteor lit up the pitch black sky across Scotland at around 6.45pm last night
The bright white streak across the night sky sparked speculation on social media whether it was an astronomical event, military activity or, perhaps more far-fetched, linked to British astronaut Tim Peake.
Inverness SNP member Jackie Hendry tweeted: 'Did anyone else see that big white flash in the sky ... I reckon it was Tim Peake.'
Madcow-paula tweeted: 'LOL ... some reckon @astro-timpeake dropped something causing a big white flash in the sky over Scotland this evening!'
SteveCDT1986 tweeted:'Big white flash and some sort of meteor in the night sky. Looked really close aswell. #endoftheworld #armageddon.'
@Colsuth tweeted: 'saw it here in Moray just as we were passing RAF Lossie. Thought it was from there.'
A Ministry of Defence spokeswoman said they would not discuss if there was any link to any operations in the area.
STV weather forecaster Sean Batty said: 'I've had lots of tweets from around the North and East of the country this evening, with people reporting a loud bang and a large flash in the sky. Most tweets have come from around Perthshire, Angus, Aberdeenshire and Moray.
'There are no thunderstorms being reported anywhere in Scotland this evening. Therefore this is not due to a flash of lightning. My only conclusion would be that this is indeed a meteor which has burned up and exploded during entry into our upper atmosphere.'
In 2013, a meteor that exploded over Russia was found by scientists to be 30 times brighter than the Sun, with the force of 40 Hiroshima atom bombs. Their analysis confirmed it was the biggest in a century.
The 62ft-wide meteor exploded in a fireball above Chelyabinsk, causing damage up to 50 miles away. At its fastest, it was travelling at more than 40,000mph.
'It has burned up and exploded'.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CTHD...GsKWLa4eMFjND-98wUFof9FKaKhoZxWEpibbvw7lJljeA
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