Edinburgh and Lothians locals in awe as 'ball of fire' shoots across night sky
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Edinburgh and Lothians residents were stunned after witnessing what is thought to be a meteor in the Scottish night sky.
The incredible celestial event was spotted at around 12.50am on Thursday July 3 with many taking to social media to share clips and their amazement at the suspected meteor.
In one clip, shared with Edinburgh Live, and captured by an Erskine resident, Caitlin Hollan, as she sat in her living room.
The clip shows the object sparking in the sky and illuminating with various different colours as it soared through the Earth's atmosphere.
People from across Scotland have said they witnessed the event.
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One eyewitness took to social media from Bonnyrigg to state the incident 'lit up their whole room.'
On meteors, the NASA website states: 'When meteoroids enter Earth's atmosphere, or that of another planet, at high speed and burn up, they're called meteors.
'This is also when we refer to them as 'shooting stars.'
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'Sometimes meteors can even appear brighter than Venus – that's when we call them 'fireballs.'
'Scientists estimate that about 48.5 tons (44,000 kilograms) of meteoritic material falls on Earth each day.'
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