AN IRISH motorist has inadvertently captured impressive footage of a meteor flying through the night sky over Cork.
Sean Linehan was driving somewhere around Banteer in Co Cork at 7pm this past Monday, October 28, when he witnessed the low-flying space rock travelling at high speed.
The meteor has the appearance of a green glowing orb against the pitch-black sky.
Several onlookers described seeing it as a “green ball of fire”.
Thankfully, Sean’s dashcam successfully recorded the stunning footage which was subsequently uploaded to Twitter.
“Just caught this on my dashcam outside Banteer, Cork,” he wrote.
Sean described the fast-moving “bright meteor” as a “fireball flashing across the sky”.
@CorkSafetyAlert @rtenews @Corks96FM Just caught this on my dashcam outside Banteer, Cork. Bright meteor/fireball flashing across the sky. Footage doesn't do it justice, very cool. #greatballsoffire pic.twitter.com/87ey9nvuhH
— Sean linehan (@LinehanSean) October 28, 2019
“Footage doesn’t do it justice, very cool,” he added.
The fireball was witnessed at 18:54:07 and lasted for roughly five seconds.
According to Astronomy Ireland, there have been reports of meteor showers across multiple counties across Clare, Cork, Athlone, Fermanagh and Mayo.
Additional meteor sightings were also reported in Wales.
The fireball was captured on camera by another eagle-eyed Irish astronomer too.
— Stephen Cheatley Photo 📸 (@Stephencheatley) October 28, 2019
Astronomy Ireland later confirmed another fireball was spotted in the Irish sky at about 10.50pm on Monday, October 28.
A fireball occurs when a piece of rock burning up high in earth’s atmosphere collides with the planet.
Similar to a meteor, a fireball is significantly larger meaning it burns brighter and for longer.
