03-07-2025
'Meteorite' shoots across Scotland's skies as residents spot 'fireball' and hear 'huge boom'
Incredible footage shows the object shooting through the sky at speed before an explosion takes place.
Thousands of Scots were left stunned after a meteorite ripped through the sky during the early hours of Thursday.
The incredible blast was spotted as far as the Outer Hebrides - with many onlookers catching the moment the fireball flew through the skies at 00.51am.
Ring Doorbell footage taken from Eoropie in the Isle of Lewis shows the space rock shooting through the night-time skyline.
The glowing object can be seen travelling at speed as it hits the atmosphere above the west of Scotland. It then goes on to explode before landing at an unconfirmed location, although it is understood to have fallen north of Ben Cruachan in Argyll and Bute.
Residents told how they witnessed the "firebomb" shoot through the sky at speed before they heard a "loud boom".
One man in Glasgow caught the bright flash and loud bang of the space rock on camera as it soared above flats in the city.
The meteor was also spotted in Oban, Fort William and Glencoe.
Glen Atkinson, from Oban, told how he was walking his dogs when the phenomenon took place.
Writing online, he said: "I was out walking dogs at Dunollie and saw two flashes of light then heard an explosion.
"Maybe at about 1.15am."
Sarah Douglas, who lives in nearby Taynuilt, told how she saw the meteor from her garden.
She said: "Did anyone see the fireball that just landed north side of Ben Cruachan? Just saw it from our garden in Taynuilt! And then a big boom?"
Bernadette Ponsonby wrote: "We felt it in Kinlochleven, the whole place shook!"
Megan O'Neill Seacord said: "It lit up the upstairs of the house up Glen Lonan at 1.15 a.m.
"Truly terrifying."
In September 2022, hundreds of residents reported witnessing a meteor changing colour as it shot through the skies.
Sightings throughout the country took place in West Lothian, Glasgow, Edinburgh, Ayrshire, Lanarkshire, Renfrewshire and even in Ireland.
Megan Barrie, from the Isle of Arran, told the Record at the time: "We saw it first hit the atmosphere and we weren't sure what it was, we thought it might have been a plane. When we realised it was a meteor, we were mesmerised and could not believe it.
"I'm always watching stars so I loved it, but my friend was freaking out a wee bit. It went from white, to green and blue.
"It was moving reasonably fast. I'm so glad I got to see it."
Dhara Patel, a space expert at the National Space Centre, said: "With the rise in doorbell cameras, we're capturing more meteors in our skies. These meteors are created as small bits of space rock and dust burn up in the Earth's atmosphere as they hurtle towards the ground – the fastest travelling at around 40 miles a second!
"With the intense heat generated, they glow brightly, and some may even break up violently in the atmosphere, causing a sonic boom or loud bang."
