Massive fireball seen in Ireland sky was a “huge event”

“It is probably a space rock that has skidded across the atmosphere” says astronomer

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Astronomy Ireland called the huge fireball that crossed Ireland on Friday night "one of the best ever seen" in Europe.

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An enormous fireball was seen crossing Ireland on Friday night, traveling at about 10:55 p.m. Sightings were reported in Dublin, Donegal, Cork, Sligo, Carlow, Longford, Antrim, across Britain and even The Netherlands. Astronomy Ireland said it was "one of the best ever seen" in Europe and that it was a "huge event."

David Moore of Astronomy Ireland told the Irish Times that it was "very unusual to see it in multiple countries."

"I’ve never seen one fragmented like that and streaked across the sky," he said.

Moore said he did not yet know what caused the fireball, which later exploded into fragments.

“It is a piece of space debris, but whether it is man-made or natural is not known,” he said.

“It is probably a space rock that has skidded across the atmosphere.”

Meteorites will have  fallen “but whether they landed in Ireland or at sea we will have to figure out”, he said.

Witnesses to the spectacular sight described a trail of seven to 12 fireballs traveling in a straight line across the sky. No sound was heard.

Moore is asking witnesses to submit a fireball report to the Astronomy Ireland website.

"This will help us triangulate the path," he said.

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