Astronomy Ireland has said parts of a meteorite seen flashing across the sky last night could have landed on earth.
It said a “colossal explosion” was seen over Ireland on Sunday night at about 8.15pm and said reports are urgently needed to locate any meteorite that was dropped as a result.
The Astronomy Ireland website received numerous reports from people all across Ireland reporting the flash was so bright that it lit up the landscape for several seconds.
Astronomy Ireland believes it was was a rock in space colliding with Earth and burning up in the sky hundreds of miles above Ireland.
“From a flash this bright it is possible that part of the rock survived the re-entry process and landed on Earth” said rditor of Astronomy Ireland magazine, David Moore.
“A fireball in November 1999 that dropped a meteorite on Ireland was found in Co Carlow after a similar analysis by Astronomy Ireland. Collectors were later selling bits of this meteorite for 50 times the price of gold at the time, so meteorites can be very valuable,” added Mr Moore.
He asked people who saw the event to report sightings on the Astronomy Ireland website, astronomy.ie, so that others can search the area for meteorites.