Asteroid Burns over Channel after Entering Earth’s Atmosphere – Video
A dramatic video has recently emerged of an asteroid burning in the skies over the English Channel. According to reports, the asteroid entered Earth’s atmosphere on Sunday evening and burned up before impact, leaving a bright trail in the night sky.
The Meteor
The UK’s National History Museum has confirmed that the asteroid was around 1 metre in size, approximately the same width as a soccer ball. Experts believe the space rock had been in orbit around the sun for millions of years before it collided with Earth’s atmosphere.
EUCAMS Observation Network
The asteroid flyby was captured by members of the European Fireball Network (EUCAMS) – a big collaboration project involving scientists from across Europe who work to study atmospheric phenomena around the continent. The network shares an array of high-resolution cameras that are bolted on to rooftops to capture footage of bright meteors and other aerial events.
The footage of the asteroid burning up over the channel quickly spread across the internet and sparked immense interest in its origins.
Following Up with Observations
However, it is important to remember that many asteroids burn up in the atmosphere and never reach the ground. Thus, it is difficult for scientists to track the exact trajectory and origin of the asteroid, particularly as the asteroid in question was only around one metre in size.
Nevertheless, this video is a unique insight into the fascinating study of meteor activity and demonstrates the importance of ground-based observational networks in capturing footage of these events.
Key Takeaway
- The asteroid was approximately one metre in size.
- It entered Earth’s atmosphere on Sunday night.
- The footage was captured by the European Fireball Network.
- Ground-based observational networks are essential for tracking and studying meteor activity.
- On Friday, 25th January, a spectacular natural light display provided evening skywatchers in the United Kingdom with a unique and radiant spectacle: a large asteroid burning over the English Channel.
Throughout the duration of the event, which lasted for several minutes, witnesses confirmed seeing a bright orange streak light up the night sky over coasts of Kent and Sussex. The blazing streak, which is believed to be part of an asteroid burning up after entering Earth’s atmosphere, was recorded on video and shared on many social media platforms, where it sparked much amazement and wonder.
In response to the exciting celestial occurrence, Denis Vida, a professor at the University of Calgary in Canada, stated that the fireball was “likely a small asteroid, likely no bigger than a few metres in size, entering Earth’s atmosphere”. In his opinion, meteors of this size come in contact with Earth’s atmosphere about “once a day or so”, but the intensity of the glow of this particular one meant that it was visible from premises over a particularly wide area.
The incident comes as the latest in an episode of increased asteroid activity across Earth, with some experts believing that global climate change is exacerbating the problem. However, despite it being understandable to fear a potential danger from asteroid impacts, Professor Vida noted that “this event… was purely a visual phenomenon” and that no harm or destruction was caused.
To summarise, on Friday, 25th January, a large asteroid burning over the English Channel was confirmed by various witnesses and captured on camera. Following analysis of the incident, it is believed that this was the result of a small-medium sized asteroid entering Earth’s atmosphere, and while visual sightings of asteroids of this size are increasingly common, this particular occurrence was unusually bright and widely visible. Fortunately, no damage was caused and the incident has been attributed to nothing more than an eye-catching display of natural beauty.