A HUGE 'sonic boom' shook Dorset and the south west yesterday - and there is growing evidence to suggest it was caused by a meteor 'bolide,' or fireball.
Residents around the county heard a single 'boom' - similar to an explosion - just before 3pm.
Others heard a series of loud bangs. After the initial 'boom', an echo could be heard for several minutes afterwards and tremors could be felt.
Residents took to social media with various theories about ordanance detonation and military aircraft - but experts are now saying is more likely to have been caused by forces of nature.
What is a meteor bolide?
A meteor bolide - or 'fireball' - is an extremely bright meteor, comparable to a full moon.
It is caused when rock matter hurtles into the Earth's atmosphere from from space.
What is the evidence?
The meteor theory had been circulating among astronomers on Twitter but came to the fore after a taxi driver on the island of Jersey captured dashcam footage of a daytime meteor hurtling through the sky at around 14.53pm.
It also emerged that people in France witnessed a similar phenomenon at around the same time - and a 'boom' was also reported in Normandy.
Experts have been piecing together the series of events and have analysed satellite images.
Simon Proud, a physicist at Oxford University, had this to say:
Sometimes weather sats see unexpected things.
— Simon Proud (@simon_sat) March 20, 2021
Do you see the flash in this video? That's a #meteor flying over the UK this afternoon!🌠
Spotted thanks to @willgater's excellent detective work! https://t.co/Ia7f39UJsh
Data: @eumetsat
Processed: @OxfordPhysics / @NCEOscience. pic.twitter.com/I7PSQBnQu5
Astronomer Will Gater has been closely following the chain of events.
Meanwhile, residents have been writing in to share eyewitness accounts.
Weymouth resident Mike Foster said: "I was on the Rodwell Trail when I heard it. I originally thought it was some old wartime ordinance being destroyed, but there was definitely two booms, and I was aware of the sound not dying away for nearly 30secs - which did NOT sound like a detonation.
"As I was outside, I didn't feel ground shake or anything - so I reckon it was sonic rather than seismic. I have to admit surprise that MoD have denied it being a couple of Eurofighters going supersonic."
Melissa Rees-Marriott said: "Myself and my 7 year old daughter were on the beach in Swanage and we heard a noise that I first thought might be distant thunder.
"But we only heard it once and the sky didn't really look dark enough for a storm so then I suggested to her that maybe it was a sonic boom (which I've explained to her before and I've heard lots of times)."
Do you have video or audio footage of the sonic boom?
Write in to ellie.maslin@dorsetecho.co.uk
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