Fire in the sky: Mystery fireball sightings reported in both hemispheres. Is more debris hitting Earth?

March 5, 2012 – AUSTRALIA – A fiery meteor has lit up the sky over Victoria and Tasmania. The object, described as a glowing red fireball moving horizontally across the sky about 10.45pm (AEDT) on Sunday, was an unusual sight for this time of year, according to astronomer David Reneke. Observers say the meteor was visible for about 20 seconds. Professor Reneke says he and his colleagues are at a loss to explain the timing and exact nature of the meteor. It may have been a slow-moving piece of rock that ignited or a piece of space junk, he said. “It’s unprecedented, we don’t seem to be in a meteor shower period at the moment,’ Professor Reneke said. “(Fireballs) tend to be very slow moving and they travel more horizontally than vertically… if you ever see one, they stick in your mind for the rest of your life.” Professor Reneke says he has received dozens of reported sightings from across Victoria and Tasmania. Social network site Twitter was abuzz today with reports of the meteor. The phenomenon comes after a fireball was reported in skies over the United Kingdom on Saturday, with police inundated with calls from concerned residents, The Guardian reports. It is impossible to be sure if the sighted meteors in the UK and Australia are the same, Professor Reneke says. –News.au

Fireball over UK: Reports of a “bright light” and an “orange glow” were received by police across Scotland and the north of England around 9.40pm. The Met Office tweeted: “Hi All, for anyone seeing something in the night sky, we believe it was a meteorite.” A spokesman for Strathclyde Police said the force had been “inundated” with calls about a bright object in the sky across the west of Scotland. A Durham Police spokeswoman said a number of calls came in around 9.45pm from concerned members of public who had seen a “bright light or a fire in the sky” and believed it may have been incidents involving an aircraft. Police forces across the UK have been inundated with calls after what is believed to be a meteor was spotted in the sky. Reports of a “bright light” and an “orange glow” were received by police across Scotland and the north of England around 9.40pm. “The sightings are believed to be either an asteroid burning out or similar which has been restricted to the upper atmosphere only.” Grampian Police said reports of people seeing a “flare or a bright object with a tail” were received from across the region. And Dumfries and Galloway Constabulary said numerous calls were made about a “large ball of fire in the sky” across Annandale and Eskdale. One user wrote on the force’s Facebook page: “It was awesome to see! Really big and bright!” Hundreds of people took to Twitter to report similar sightings across Scotland and the north of England. People described seeing a bright fireball moving across the sky with a large tail. The Kielder Observatory also reported the sighting of a “huge fireball” travelling from north to south over Northumberland at 9.41pm. The Observatory posted on Twitter: “Of 30 years observing the sky, this fireball is the best thing I have ever seen period.” –Telegraph

contribution Gen and Tim