A MORAY COUNCILLOR was one of thousands who witnessed a massive light in the sky over Moray on Monday evening culminating in an explosion that turned night into day.
Experts have said that what was seen was most likely a meteor exploding as it entered the earth’s atmosphere at around 7pm – but for many it was simply an awesome sight, both spectacular and frightening.
Councillor Graham Leadbitter was one of the first of many to hit social media pages after sighting the flashing light, saying: “Right place and time in Elgin to see the #meteor streak past from east to west at a rate of knots. Spectacular. The universe is awesome!”
The meteor was spotted from near Aberdeen all the way to Inverness with several reports that it had crashed to earth – one claiming at Lhanbryde. Those sighting it said it was moving at “incredible” speed from East to West and lasted for around ten seconds – ending with a massive white flash and “rumbling noise, not like thunder, more an explosion”.
A spokesman for the Aberdeen Astronomical Society said that the most likely explanation was a meteor: “That is the highest probability, an exploding meteor which has entered the earth’s atmosphere, heated up a great deal and then exploded. It would have to have been a fair size to have been seen and heard.”
Police said that they had received several calls from concerned people throughout the north east who had witnessed the ‘explosion’.
A video of the meteor can be seen on insideMoray’s Facebook page.