FIRE IN THE SKY: Mysterious Flash Lightens Night Sky In South Russia?!

© RUPTLY video screenshot

March 18, 2015 - RUSSIA - An inexplicable white-and-blue flash was spotted lighting up the sky over the southern Russian city of Stavropol. A dashcam video has since triggered a heated debate over the origins of the mysterious sight.

Stavropol's horizon offered a jaw-dropping view to those who weren't asleep at around 00:39 local time (21.39 GMT on Monday). The soundless flash of light scared several people, as it made some streetlights in the city go out, while being accompanied by the flickering of lights inside apartments and houses.

Local residents have come up with various theories to interpret the incident - military exercises that are currently taking place not far from the scene, faults in the electricity net, Northern Lights, an asteroid and even UFOs.


WATCH: Dashcam captures strange lights over niight sky in Russia.

"I was very frightened by what I saw, I was already in bed. It looked as if something very bright lit up my ceiling," a woman shared her experience on social media, Russian daily Argumenty i Fakty reported.

According to the Hydrometeorological Center of the city, the phenomenon "can't be attributed to nature" - rather, it could be anthropogenic. The source of the light is thought to have been located somewhere on the ground.

However power engineers have rejected a version suggesting a fault in the power supply line leaving the public clueless about the nature of the mysterious flash. - RT.

FIRE IN THE SKY: Breathtaking - Giant Fireball Meteor Caught On Camera Over Loch Ness, Scotland!

Spectacular: The meteor captured over Loch Ness by tour guide John MacDonald

March 17, 2015 - SCOTLAND - When tourist guide John Alasdair MacDonald snapped a landscape shot across the lake he accidentally captured a giant shooting star

This spectacular picture shows the 'fluke' moment a fireball meteor was pictured soaring over the Loch Ness last night.

Gobsmacked John MacDonald, 42, went for a walk at 9pm when he snapped the rare sight lighting up the sky.

The meteor was so bright it would have terrified Nessie and even caused panicked locals to phone the coastguard after mistaking it for a distress flare.

John, a tour guide who lives near the lake, snapped the 30-second long exposure picture with a standard Sony RX100 compact camera.

He told Mirror Online: "We had really good weather in the Highlands over the past few days so the sky was clear all weekend.

"I decided to pop down to get some pictures for my website and set up my camera for a 30-second long exposure.

"Before last night I had never seen a shooting star so I was completely stunned when it happened."

Giant fireball meteors - or shooting stars - are rarely seen so to capture one on camera is an incredible feat.

John added: "It's a once in a lifetime thing, I think I was just extremely lucky and for it to take place in the middle of the picture as well - it was just the perfect picture."  - Daily Mirror.

FIRE IN THE SKY: Fireballs Seen Over Europe - Bright Meteorite Falls In Central Bulgaria And Fall Meteor Seen Over Cumbria, England!

March 16, 2015 - EUROPE - Here are two stories of fireballs seen over England and Bulgaria on the 16th of March, 2015.

Bright Meteorite Falls in Central Bulgaria

A meteorite has landed in the Sredna Gora mountain near the town of Sopot, in Central Bulgaria.

Locals reported seeing bright lights just before 19:00 EET (17:00 GMT) followed by rumbles and smoke, according to Novinite's Bulgarian-language website.

Some witnesses claim the fireball looked "the size of a washing machine" while making its way downwards.

But Sopot Mayor Veselin Lichev told private national channel TV7 that "it was a small piece of a rock... It fell somewhere in Sredna Gora and we will not be able to find it."

Lichev ruled out that it could set anything ablaze, since there have been no reports of a fire in the past 15 hours. - Novinite.

Falling meteor in Cumbria

Meteorite Tyrol March 2015

A major search was launched after distress flares, which turned out to be a meteor, were reported in Cumbria.

Concerned members of the public reported someone in trouble at about 9.20pm last night.

Maryport Coastguard Rescue Team was dispatched to the area, between Workington and the Isle of Whithorn, where members took up various observation points while Workington lifeboat was dispatched to carry out a search.

A spokesman for the coastguard said: "After a thorough search of the area and enquiries made - as well as receiving more reports from other parts of the country reporting lights in the sky - it was decided that the sighting was probably a meteor."

The team and lifeboat were stood down and, as the coastguard was leaving the area, the team was flagged down by a security guard from one of the local factories reporting a bright object moving across the sky.

- News & Star.

FIRE IN THE SKY: Dash-Cam Dazzle - Huge Fireball Captured On Video Over Switzerland And Austria!

There were reported sightings of the fireball in Austria, France, Switzerland and Germany.

March 16, 2015 - SWITZERLAND - Witnesses reported seeing a green and white meteor flying over Switzerland on Sunday evening, with several dash-cam recordings soaring in popularity on social media sites.

WATCH: Meteorite seen over Switzerland.

Some even reported hearing loud explosions along with the bright lights.

The fireball was observed at around 8:50 p.m. local time in Switzerland. It was also reportedly seen in Austria and southern parts of Germany.

Witnesses claim the bright object moved in a southern direction across the sky. Some reported hearing two loud explosions on top of seeing the greenish light.

Screenshot from YouTube user Accident

Screenshot from YouTube user Accident

Latest map showing the density of reports of the fireball. © International Meteor Organization

“My daughter was on balcony when this happened and she heard a bang. She even felt a slight pressure wave,” one woman told the local newspaper Aargauer Zeitung.

“The blast sounded like an explosion,” said another witness.

Police in Zurich and Berne allegedly received multiple calls reporting the bright lights in the sky.


WATCH: Meteorite seen over Switzerland.

While observed cases of space objects causing damage by direct impact are extremely rare, fireball explosions can, in fact, be devastating.

In February 2013, the Russian city of Chelyabinsk was rocked by a meteor blast that blew out thousands of windows and damaged several buildings in frigid winter weather. Hundreds of people sought medical attention for minor injuries, mostly caused by shattered glass and debris sent flying by the impact wave.

The celestial body responsible for the havoc was later discovered on the bottom of a lake outside the city, and was called the Chelyabinsk meteorite. - RT.

FIRE IN THE SKY: "Bright Orange,... Green Tail,... Brighter Than Venus,... Then It Exploded,... Incredible,..." - Numerous Reports Of Meteors Over Ireland And Scotland!

March 15, 2015 - IRELAND & SCOTLAND - The following constitutes the latest eye-witness testimonies from the Lunar Meteorite Hunters of meteors over Ireland and Scotland.

15MAR2015
Maga Moate, co.westmeath, Ireland 21:00:00 5-6 seconds N-S. Very bright orange with a green tail, very close like firework, slow moving Brighter than Venus. No fragments. No pictures.

15MAR2015
Jamie MacEwan aka Jamie Groobel. Screwtop Fulton, Amisfield, Dumfries and Galloway, Scotland. Approx 20.59 GMt 2-ish seconds South East towards North west. Orange ball followed by a bunson burner effect tail: yellow surrounded by pale blue/ white. Almost like a car headlight at full beam at 400 metres No. I have seen fragmentation once before. I thought that experience would never be topped (2012 - unreported). I feel as if I am in a state of shock. I watched an object travelling east to west in the small hours of the morning on a clear, crisp morning in the spring of 2012 whilst driving an HGV across the A66 from Scotch Corner to Kendal. On that occasion the Orange ball split into around 4 pieces in way that I can only describe as like a rocket breaking apart. Tonight it was not like that -'around 2 or so seconds then it appeared to 'burn out'. Incredible!!

15MAR2015
Nick Bangor. Northern Ireland. 21.07 2 sw-ne green. Umm, it lit clouds up and roof of homes yes. Very bright, passed in and out of clouds.

15MAR2015
Gregor White Abington, Scotland 21:00:00 6 secs S to N. Me facing West. Fireball with tail. Very bright. No Fast, S to N travel.

15MAR2015
We were driving home tonight at 21:00 in Fortstewart ,Ramelton,Co Donegal,Ireland. We saw what looked like a green shooting star streak across the clear sky, it had a red trail, it then appeared to explode creating a large green flash. - Maura M.

- Lunar Meteorite Hunters.

FIRE IN THE SKY: "It Was Pretty Incredible,... Most Spectacular Fireball I've Ever Seen,... Lasted 10 Seconds,... It Had A Flaming Tail,... Long Trail,..." - Mysterious "Bright Green" Fireball Spotted Over Colorado!

Nate Hershey, a Colorado software engineer, shared a video of the Colorado Meteor that he caught on his dash cam on March 11, 2015.
Image: Nate Hershey https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mDNwt8NRmqI

March 11, 2015 - COLORADO, UNITED STATES - So it's true: The early bird gets the fireballs.

Coloradans who were up before the sun on Wednesday morning saw a "bright green" fireball soar across the sky before it burned out over the mountains.

More than 60 eyewitnesses filed sightings on the American Meteor Society's website.

Greg Moore, an analyst and contributor at Weather5280, told Mashable he was driving over the top of Vail pass, west of Denver, just before 6 a.m. local time when "a bright green fireball caught my eye."

The object had a "flaming tail with a long trail behind it," Moore said. "As it moved towards the far horizon it started to flame out, but even after the tail was gone a bright orange ball was still visible till it disappeared beyond the far mountain range."

"It was pretty incredible," he said.

Snapchat user Joel Jimenez sent Mashable video he caught from a Home Depot parking lot in Fort Collins.


WATCH: Meteor over Colorado - Video 1.

Brian Paulson, a software engineer, caught the fireball on his car's dash cam while driving about 15 miles north of Pueblo, Colorado. A second man caught it on his dash cam from Denver.


WATCH: Meteor over Colorado - Video 2.

Colorado resident Nate Hershey told Mashable he was getting his kids dressed on Wednesday morning and happened to look out the window when the object was streaking across the sky.

"The head was bright white, and it had a deep orange tail with what looked like sparks falling behind, moving very slowly for a meteor," he said.

"I had time to put my 1 year old down, grab my four year old, climb onto my bed and hold him up to the window for a few seconds before it faded," Hershey said. "At the end, the tail appeared to be an eerie green with a slight blue tint as it disappeared."

"I've seen a lot of meteors in my day but this must have been the most spectacular, lasting for what seemed like around 10 seconds," he said.

The fireball, which could have been a meteor, satellite debris or a warning shot from an alien warship, was first reported on Twitter.

Others reported seeing the fireball on 9News's Facebook page.

We've reached out to NASA to see what's up.

Did you see the fireball?  - Mashable.

FIRE IN THE SKY: "It Made A Massive Big Flash In The Sky" - Falling Meteor May Have Sparked Unexplained Bush Fires In New Zealand?!

This bushfire at Tangahoe on the Whanganui River was reported on February 20. © Supplied

March 11, 2015 - NEW ZEALAND - A falling meteor may have caused the spate of unexplained fires in Wanganui forest and bush.
Eight fires in sometimes very remote places have Department of Conservation staff investigating whether the meteor which flashed across the New Zealand sky on the evening of February 11 was to blame.

DoC Whanganui services manager George Taylor said in some cases trees were burned right down to stumps, which was unusual.

Fires at Parinui and Tangahoe were among those fought near the Whanganui River last month. The three latest fires, reported on March 3, were even more remote - one was 5km from the river and the other two were west at Matemateaonga.

Kelly O'Neill farms at Pipiriki and DoC have been using his property to land firefighting helicopters.

He talked to DoC staff there who were pretty convinced the falling meteor of February 11 caused at least some of the fires.

Mr O'Neill saw the meteor himself, around 10pm that night.

"It made a massive big flash in the sky - it was there for about a second, and headed over in that direction."

The meteor was a very bright type called a fireball, said David Britten, the astronomy educator at Auckland's Stardome.

It was probably the size of a football or two and travelling south to north across the country. It could have been debris from an asteroid, comet, moon or planet.

It exploded somewhere in a triangle bounded by South Auckland, Thames and Waikato, shaking Auckland windows.

The time between people seeing the explosion and feeling the shock indicated the explosion was probably about 30km above the earth.

It's still being investigated, but Mr Britten said it was possible that bits broke off the meteor as it passed and started fires in the Wanganui region. However, he thought that unlikely.

The first fire after it passed overhead on February 11 was at Ohura on February 16, and it was more likely such fires would happen on the night, he said.

But Mr Taylor said the Wanganui fires were in such remote places that people wouldn't necessarily see and report them immediately.

Lightning was another possible cause, and "dry lightning" can happen without a downpour.

But Mr Taylor said MetService had found no correlation with lightning so far.

Mr Britten knew of only one incident where a falling meteor is thought to have started a fire - that was in the 1800s in a remote place in the United States. The three latest fires in Whanganui National Park were reported by a Wanganui Aero Work staff member flying over on March 3. DoC staff fought them the next day, and for an hour the day after.  - The New Zealand Herald.

FIRE IN THE SKY: "I Just Saw A Massive Falling Star" - Fireball Flying Over Perth, Australia Caught On Dashcams, Scientists Suspect Meteorite!

Still from YouTube video/Radio 6PR

March 9, 2015 - PERTH, AUSTRALIA - A fireball flashing through the sky has been reported by multiple witnesses and also recorded on dashcams in Perth, Western Australia. Scientists believe the bright shiny object could turn out to be a meteorite.

Reports of the fireball as well as its dashcam images started to emerge on Monday morning.


WATCH: Fireball over Perth.

“Don't know what it was but whilst on a break at work, was walking back to the workshop and saw a bright flash and an object falling through the atmosphere with a white bright lit tail,” Perth resident, Chris Ugle, posted in a Facebook group titled Australian Meteor Reports.

A resident of Gidgegannup (45km east of Perth), Angela Whife, described the fireball as round, white and having a meter-long tail. She believes the object landed on her property.

“It would have been about 10 meters above the ground I suppose when I first saw it and then it landed about 20 meters away from me,” Whife told Perth Now.

The object has yet to be found though.

One of the witnesses called 720 ABC Perth's Morning program to say the fireball “vaporized in a burst over the [Canning] river."

Scientists are meanwhile studying dashcam footage of the fireball. One of those was captured by Nine News cameraman, Gerard Price.


WATCH: Meteorite caught on dashcam over northern Perth.

'It would have to have been a fairly big rock to be visible during the day,' Curtin University's Professor Robert Bland, who hosts the Fireball in the Sky website, told Radio 6PR.

Bland’s colleague, Jay Ridgewell, told AAP they were confident the fireball could be meteorite.

"Thousands of meteors fall from the sky every year, but it's not as common to see them in such a populated area," she said. - RT.

FIRE IN THE SKY: "Fireball" Seen In The Skies Over Illinois Creates Buzz!

March 7, 2015 - ILLINOIS, UNITED STATES - Did little green men take a cruise in their spaceship over Alton? Probably not — but something strange in the sky caught the attention of several Telegraph readers Thursday evening.

According to Robert Lunsford of the American Meteor Society (AMS), reports of a fireball came from across the state Thursday evening.

"The sightings were clustered right around Chicago," Lunsford said. "We've only received a couple from the St. Louis area. We have 34 total sightings. St. Louis seems to be on the southwestern edge of our reports. It was apparently seen as far away as Ann Arbor, Michigan."

Lunsford added that similar sightings came from Texas and Louisiana around 2 a.m. Friday. He said the southern fireball had about half as many reports as the one over Illinois. Such bright fireballs are common in February, March and April, he added.

"This is the peak time for evening fireballs," he said. "I have no doubt that it was a meteor."

Lunsford said most of the reports claimed to have seen a large green fireball, but some were blue or yellow. According to Lunsford, the seemingly strange colors are actually quite common when a large chunk of space debris enters Earth's atmosphere.

"Entering the atmosphere excites the oxygen molecules and creates a sort of greenish glow," he said.

The AMS is still investigating the case, which includes looking for evidence that the meteor metamorphosed into a meteorite by hitting the surface of Earth.

"There's still a possibility that it did," Lunsford said. "We look for signs of sonic booms that indicate that the object entered the lower atmosphere. We haven't had any of those so far."

Social media in the Riverbend was abuzz with chatter about the fireball — or whatever it was — late Thursday and early Friday. Facebook user Jason Cox wrote on the Telegraph's wall that he saw the object around 8:30 p.m. Thursday evening while traveling north on Homer Adams Parkway off Broadway.

Another user, Berthal Allsman said he saw a similar object on Homer Adams Parkway and described it as "kool as h—-."

Mandi Carroll wrote that she saw it while driving on Missouri Route 367 towards Alton.

Most Facebook users that claimed to have seen the object on the Telegraph's page described it as a meteor. Others jokingly theorized that it was a spaceship, a methamphetamine lab explosion or popular Star Trek character Spock, portrayed by the recently deceased Leonard Nimoy, reaching his destination on the final frontier.

The Alton Police Department said that they did not receive any calls on the matter. Alton Police spokesperson Emily Hejna speculated that it was most likely not a visiting life form from the far reaches of the cosmos.

The Telegraph also reached out to NASA regarding the matter, but nobody from the administration had responded to the request as of press time. An official did confirm they were investigating the reports, however. The official echoed the belief that it was probably not a spaceship.  - The Telegraph.

FIRE IN THE SKY: "The Doors And Windows Started Shaking" - Mysterious Fireballs Light Up The Skies Over Kerala, India; Suspected Impact Crater Found!

Fireball in Kerala. © Twitter

March 1, 2015 - KERALA, INDIA - Different parts of Kerala witnessed mysterious fireballs in the sky alongside sonic booms on Friday night, fuelling multiple theories about the reasons behind the phenomenon.

Early indications pointed to the likelihood it could even have been normal meteors brightening up the night sky. The phenomenon occurred on Friday around 10.30pm local time in the state. In some places in Ernakulam district, a few residents even alerted the police and fire and rescue personnel.

Social media, too, got into the act, with people posting their experiences of witnessing the aerial spectacle accompanied by a booming sound. Some of those who experienced it even mistook it for an earthquake. One person tweeted that a ball of fire had fallen over Kochi.

Some people in the state's commercial capital, Kochi said they felt mild tremors after witnessing a luminous object falling from the sky. Interestingly, the phenomenon seemed to be visible right to the southern end of the state. Sightings of the light in the sky were also reported from the northern districts of Malappuram, Palakkad and Kozhikode.

Some have speculated that the pieces that fell from the sky could be rocket debris that re-entered the earth's atmosphere. However, no special activity appears to have been spotted by the radars. Ernakulam district collector M.G. Rajamanickam said no clues had been received for any apparent earthquake.

The meteorological department is making an assessment of the phenomenon, and early indications are that the phenomenon has no link to any climate change issue.

Meanwhile, a suspected depression or an impact crater, believed to be caused by a 'fireball spotted last night in several districts of southern Indian state of Kerala, has been located in Karimalloor village in Ernakulam district on Saturday.

A team of the State Disaster Management Authority is on their way to the spot, official scientist from the authority, Sekhar Kuriakose said here.

Forensic scientists collecting evidence from the spot after a fireball fell from sky at Karumaloor in Kochi on Saturday.  © PTI

"We have located a suspected impact crater at Karimalloor village in Ernakulam district and our team is rushing to the spot," he said.

It is yet to be ascertained as to what exactly caused the phenomena, but there is a possibility that the crater might be caused by a meteor, he said.

A huge 'fireball' was noticed streaking across the sky last night in parts of Thrissur, Ernakulam, Palakaad, Kozhikode and Malappuram districts of Kerala.

An area in the village, where the crater was noticed, was found charred, he said adding more details are expected after the officials visit the site.

However, authority dismissed speculations that the 'fireball' could be celestial debris, as the consortium of space agencies closely monitor any space related activities and would have notified the management of any such appearance.

Kuriakose even dismissed the 'object' as anything related to 'metal' as Air Traffic Control radar system would have recorded it.

Meanwhile, science author and cosmology researcher, Rajagopal Kamath, said that the 'fireball' could be "a rocket or satellite debris. It also could be stony chondrite meteorites as in many places people have claimed that they have seen a bluish flame, which is peculiar to any meteorites."

The locals said they felt tremors and witnessed sounds with the passing of the 'object'.

"We saw a fireball like a meteor. Initially, we thought someone had burst a cracker. The doors and windows started shaking. Some thought there was an explosion somewhere," a local hailing from Kochi said. - GulfNews.

 

FIRE IN THE SKY: Meteor Event Or Thundersnow - Spectacular Flashes And Mysterious Booms In The Arctic Sky Over Alaska?!

Thundersnow

February 27, 2015 - ALASKA - Facebook lit up almost as brightly as the sky over Kotzebue and other areas of the Arctic last Sunday morning, as people speculated about what the bright flashes in the sky were.

More than a dozen people reported seeing several bright flashes in the sky, unexplained by air traffic or other human activity. One thought neighborhood children were pulling a prank at first. Another suggested a meteor had split into three parts. Another reported hearing booms.

Then came a post showing a Chicago-based meteorologist on The Weather Channel standing in a blinding snowstorm with the sky flashing behind him. The ecstatic reporter hooted as he and his camera man captured "thundersnow" on camera several times in the course of a few minutes.

Though rare, thundersnow is a real phenomenon, a snow thunderstorm that occurs under circumstances similar to a thunderstorm as a cold or warm front moves into an area. The thunder is often muffled by the snow, but the flashes may still be visible.

"It's pretty rare, but it's not out of the question in the winter," said John Lingaas, a meteorologist at the National Weather Service in Fairbanks. "The conditions have to be just right."

According to Lingaas, thundersnow occurs when warm, moist air is trapped below colder air at the upper levels. That produces cumulonimbus clouds and the two air masses turn over, producing lightning.

Lingaas said conditions in Kotzebue and surrounding areas did include some warmer air moving north that could have created enough instability to give rise to thundersnow.

"It doesn't happen every day, even in the Lower 48," he said. "It's pretty remarkable."

Lingaas said thundersnow is typically short-lived. It's not surprising that many theories existed about its source given the rareness of the event.
"I'm sure there was all kind of wondering," he said, adding that the weather service doesn't monitor meteor events, so he couldn't rule that out as a possible source of the early morning flashes.  - Alaska Dispatch News.

FIRE IN THE SKY: Daytime Meteor Fireball Blazes Over Melbourne, Australia!

File illustration.

February 26, 2015 - MELBOURNE, AUSTRALIA - Lucky skywatchers who spotted a rare daylight meteor streaking across the Victorian sky might never see one again in their lifetime, said one astronomer.

Reports of the burst of flame across the blue sky started flooding through on social media at about 10.30am on Wednesday, with one describing it as a "fireball asteroid".

Astronomical Society of Victoria spokesman Perry Vlahos said he had heard reports of the sighting across the state, from Mildura to Wangaratta to Melbourne.

"It appears to have come in from the western sky burning with a bright orange colour and leaving a white trail behind it," he said.

Mr Vlahos said the soaring fireball was probably a space rock that has been pulled in by the Earth's gravity and burned up in the atmosphere.

The flaming rock did not hit the ground, he said, meaning it was a meteor as opposed to a meteorite.

Spotting a daylight meteor is considered to be quite rare, due to the energy required to light up the sky when competing with the sun.

The main difference with night-time meteors, known widely as shooting stars, is the size. Mr Vlahos said a meteor visible at night could be as small as a grain of sand or an apple pip.

"For something to be seen during daylight hours, it's got to be a little bit larger than that. I'm suggesting it might be about the size of a walnut, up to the size of a cricket ball."

Mr Vlahos said this meant the skywatchers looking up at the right time on Wednesday were very lucky.

"It is very rare that they saw it. I would say those that did wouldn't see another one in their lifetime," he said.  - The Age.

FIRE IN THE SKY: Bright Flash Arouses Speculation In Finland - Could It Have Been A Meteorite?!

February 03, 2014 - FINLAND - Separate fireball observations early Sunday morning have caused some to wonder whether a meteorite may have landed in Finland. The Ursa Astronomical Association says a meteorite hasn't been recovered in Finland for decades.

A fireball camera recorded a bright flash early Sunday morning in Helsinki’s Pukinmäki district.
Photo: Esko Lyytinen/Ursa

Ursa's Marko Pekkola says that as of yet, there is no certainty whether the flash was the result of a fireball, but the presumption is strong.

"We only see two or three fireballs that bright each year. Finland hasn't collected a meteorite that has fallen to the Earth in over 40 years, so it would be fantastically great to find one," he says.

Cloud lightening or fireball?

A fireball is formed when an object falls to the Earth from space, for example, when a stone the size of a fist reaches the Earth's atmosphere. The flash on Sunday morning was captured by two different fireball cameras, one in Helsinki and the other in Siuntio.

The flash could also have been caused by cloud lightning, but the people at Ursa says it is doubtful because cloud lightning does not usually appear as widely as the light phenomenon observed on Sunday. Observations made in Lohja saw the fireball even more distinctly, as the weather was clearer there. No meteorite search parties have been organised, however.

"A very rough preliminary model suggests a trajectory towards the Porvoo or Sipoo archipelago, but our indications are really so obscure that we can't rely on them to find it," says Pekkola.

Difficult terrain and sparse population inhibit the search

Pekkola says Finland is a difficult country for finding fallen meteorites.

"We have broad areas that are virtually uninhabited and people aren't spending extended periods out and about in nature anymore. This, plus a difficult terrain of marshes, lakes, forests and lots of undergrowth, means that things are very hard to find."

And even if someone found the meteorite, it is not entirely clear if he or she could keep it.

"The Museum of Natural History would probably offer a finder's fee, but there's no saying if you get to keep a meteorite if you find one," says Pekkola. - YLE.

FIRE IN THE SKY: Daytime Meteor Fireball Photographed In The Skies Over Mounts Bay, Cornwall, England!

February 03, 2014 - ENGLAND - On the left side of this picture, highlighted by the dark cloud but with its detail obscured, is a bright triangular shape streaking across the sky.

Photo: Michael Potter

Could it be visitor from space or perhaps an experimental delta-wing aircraft from Culdrose or beyond?

It was snapped by accident and only discovered when Michael Potter reviewed his photographs of Mounts Bay on his computer.

He said: "I uploaded it to my laptop and decided to delete it because of the apparent sunspot over part of the image.

"Then I noticed on the left hand side of the image something that had not been apparent when I took the photo.

"The photo has not been tampered with or photo-shopped so what is it?"

 Close-up of the fireball. Photo:Michael Potter

Perhaps the correct answer is in itself as incredible as the idea of UFOs.

It is most probably a large lump of 4.3-billion-year-old rock which has slammed into the Earth's atmosphere at a terrific speed, perhaps as much as 45 miles a second. Heated by friction to a fireball of around 1,500 degrees centigrade, it is just one of an endless cascade of meteors that rain down on us day and night. - This is Cornwall.

FIRE IN THE SKY: "It Was Huge" - Massive Meteor Fireball Seen Over Mexico!

January 31, 2014 - MEXICO - Lots of people in Mexico reported seeing a meteor (meteoro) or meteorite (meteorito) on Thursday evening. The meteor or comet was spotted around 7:03 p.m. local time by a web camera in Mexico City and also reported by a range of people from other locations.

© Twitter/Steffany_rm

One Twitter user said they saw it from the hills of Angeloplis "perfectly."

Another said they saw it in Puebla.

"It crossed the entire sky from south to west," said another user.

Sightings were also reported in Morella. Sky Alert said that sightings have been reported in eight states and the federal district."It was a streak of light moving at high speed," said Andres Olmos in Morella. "It was huge!"

Story developing; check back for updates. - TET.