Huge green fireball snapped over major UK city leaves sky-gazers stunned

A software engineer has snapped an incredible photograph of one of nature's most breathtaking spectacles as it illuminated the sky above Nottingham on Tuesday evening.

The remarkable sight of a green streak blazing across the night sky was reportedly caused by a sporadic meteor, described as a "random" meteor that doesn't belong to a recognised meteor shower and can be spotted on any clear night, unlike a shower meteor which is linked to the debris trail of a comet or asteroid.

shared the once-in-a-lifetime photograph from his X account, writing "I just saw my first ever sporadic meteor! At 19:11 UTC looking SE whilst crossing the Clifton Boulevard bridge in Nottingham, a bright green streak from about 40° above the horizon down to 20° above, lasting ~2s." The development comes as the October Harvest Moon is set to illuminate UK skies in days - how and when to see the supermoon.

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Sporadic meteors emerge randomly from all directions, though their rates can display seasonal variations and tend to be elevated in the autumn and before dawn. They represent a vital baseline for studying showers, constituting the scattered remains of ancient meteor streams or other sources of cosmic dust, reports the Express.

Social media users praise incredible timing

X users inundated Nicholas' X post with comments applauding him on the quality of the photograph and his quick-thinking ability to capture it in the moment.

CaptainQuack said, "Saw it too from West London.

"Congratulations on swift camera work. An excellent shot!"

Tea & Toast posted, "My husband saw it when he was driving home from work."

Pierrepotts made the following comments while posting his own video, which is published above:

"Saw it in Farnham.. grabbed some folks walking by to prove I wasn't going crazy".

What makes sporadic meteors different from showers

Sporadic meteors appear randomly across the sky, lacking a concentrated "radiant" point like meteor showers possess.

They aren't connected to the debris trail of a particular comet or asteroid, which characterises a meteor shower.

Whilst random, sporadic meteors display seasonal fluctuations in their appearance, with elevated rates occasionally noted during spring and autumn months.

Their frequencies also differ throughout the night, usually being greater in the hours immediately before sunrise.

They are believed to stem from the widely scattered remains of ancient meteor streams, unidentified minor showers, and matter from toroidal and apex sources (the direction of Earth's orbital motion).