'Green flash' meteor sighting reports across Britain

A bright meteor has been sighted over Britain in the early hours.

Witnesses have described the object as a green flash moving south to north for a few seconds, leaving a magnesium-white trail.

Sightings have been reported in locations including London, Hampshire, Stafford and on the east coast of England at 03:16 GMT.

Its colour has prompted people on Twitter to describe it as the St Patrick's Day meteor.

'Not uncommon'

Describing the meteor as "spectacular", Dr John Mason of the British Astronomical Association said it was bright enough to be categorised as a fireball.

He believes it was a piece of cosmic rock which almost certainly came from the asteroid belt between Mars and Jupiter.

He said the green colour was caused by the meteor heating up the oxygen in the earth's atmosphere.

"Meteors of this kind are not uncommon," he added, saying he estimated there was at least one a week over the UK.

Richard Kacerek, from the UK Meteor Observation Network, told the BBC it had received reports from across the country.

He said the network's camera at Church Crookham in Hampshire had captured the meteor from the west.

"This is the biggest meteor sighting we have recorded," Mr Kacerek said.

"It lasted for a few seconds. It was seen for hundreds of miles. We have received a number of emails."

He said the network of astronomy enthusiasts recorded about 10 to 15 meteors every year.

An astronomer at the Institute of Cosmology and Gravitation at the University of Portsmouth, Dr Karen Masters, said thousands of these objects hit the Earth every day.

She said: "Most of them over the oceans or over uninhabited parts of the world. It is quite rare that one goes over such a populated place and be so bright."

She said the size of this meteor would depend on its velocity but it was probably as big as a tennis ball.

Source: British Astronomical Association