'Astonishing' meteor spotted flying over UK as Brits are left 'stunned'

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A meteor has been spotted flying in the night sky over Britain on Monday, leaving skygazers stunned.

The Met Office tweeted that a large and bright meteor had been spotted after people took to social media to publish photos and videos.

The meteor was seen at 8.01pm across parts of the country, including London, Southampton, Bath, Wolverhampton, and Rickmansworth in Hertfordshire.

Andras Sobester, an aeroplane enthusiast, said the meteor was bright and had several colours.

He tweeted: "Just saw the most astonishing meteor/fireball of some sort shoot across the sky (Southampton, bearing of about 40deg, 20:01-ish).

Photos and videos of the meteor were shared on social media (@Gully_Sund/Twitter)

"It had multiple discernible colours - blueish white core, bright red outline and streak - unlike anything I have ever seen."

Another Twitter user said: "I've just seen a stunning meteor burning across the sky 20.03 tonight 9th January South [Hertfordshire].

"It was so low down and clear and beautiful! Golden coloured."

One more person tweeted: "Did anyone else see a crazy meteor thing over Bath at about 8pm?"

Conservative MP and former Prime Minister candidate Tom Tugendhat also reported seeing an "amazing" meteor over Westminster.

The UK Meteor Network (UKMON) has 186 cameras in the UK - and last year they recorded and matched 1,615,558 meteors.

However, just a few of them would have been clearly visible as the one spotted tonight.

A meteor is a streak of light in the sky caused by a meteoroid crashing through Earth's atmosphere.

A bright meteor has been spotted over the UK tonight (@dazbradbury/Twitter)

Most meteors occur in Earth’s mesosphere, about 50-80 kilometres (31-50 miles) above the Earth's surface.

Even the smallest meteors are visible from many kilometers away because of how fast they travel and how brightly they shine.

The fastest meteors travel at speeds of 71 kilometres (44 miles) per second.