13 February 2023 , 03:57
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An asteroid has exploded over the English Channel after entering Earth's atmosphere in the early hours of this morning.
The small 1m asteroid, currently designated as Sar2667, created a shooting star and an 'airburst' when it exploded.
It was visible from across most of southern England and Wales - and as far south as Paris, France.
American Physicist and airburst specialist Mark Boslough from the Los Alamos National Laboratory told Wales Online that while "airbursts of this size happen somewhere several times per year" they are "rarely discovered in advance."
He said this was only the seventh time in history one had been discovered advance.
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Footage from France showing the asteroid burning up (Austin Huffmaster/Twitter)Mr Boslough added that it was the first time in history this had happened "over a populated area with enough warning to get data".
Mark Boslough is a research professor at University of New Mexico, fellow of the Committee for Skeptical Inquiry, and chair of the Asteroid Day Expert Panel.
He is an expert in the study of planetary impacts and global catastrophes.
This was only the seventh time in history an asteroid had been discovered advance (Austin Huffmaster/Twitter)Prior to the impact an expert warned that if there are meteorites they are likely to fall in the vicinity of Royville, France, several minutes after the fireball passes overhead.
People across the UK captured the amazing moment on camera, sharing pictures and videos online.
The amazing footage comes just one month after a man captured a meteor soaring through the sky on his doorbell camera.
The small 1m asteroid created a shooting star and an 'airburst' when it exploded (Justitia/Twitter)
It is currently named as Sar2667 (Justitia/Twitter)The meteorite was picked up on the Ring camera on the outskirts of Cardiff at around 8pm on January 9 in Taffs Well.
The footage, shared by Colin Hyde, shows a white light getting increasingly brighter as is shoots across the night sky.
A meteor is a streak of light in the sky caused by a rock crashing through Earth’s atmosphere.