Rennes (AFP)
Scientists from the Fripon watch-sky network confirmed on Monday the presence of a meteor on Sunday evening in the sky of Brittany in the south of England after numerous testimonies evoking a "light as in broad daylight" followed by a "explosion ".
This "bolide" was seen Sunday at 11:47 pm French time (21:47 GMT) over a large north-western quarter of France, specifies on its page the Fripon network which shows images of the shooting star stretching in particular in the sky from Vannes.
(https://www.vigie-ciel.org/2021/09/06/bolide-du-5-septembre-23h47/).
According to its trajectory calculated from the cameras "the meteoroid came from the south, crossed Cornwall passing through the zenith of Morlaix to finish its course in the Channel", explained to AFP Priscilla Abraham, scientist at the Science Center of Rennes which participates in this sky surveillance project.
Its size was not immediately specified.
Images were thus captured by cameras in Normandy and Brittany.
The car passed over Brest and dozens of testimonies in France and in the south of England have already been collected by Fripon or posted on social networks.
"I saw the meteor with its trail, a shooting star seen very, very close. My partner only saw the light because he was not under the Velux, he acted as in broad daylight for a few seconds then , a few minutes later, we heard like an explosion. The light of the meteor was very bright with reflections a little green, it was magnificent ", told AFP Manon Choquet, a resident of Brest.
On the port of Arzal (Morbihan) a webcam shows a "very beautiful phenomenon that we can have from time to time", underlined Priscilla Abraham.
"Some have even heard the noise. It is the disintegration in the atmosphere of the car," said the scientist.
Regarding terminology, "the meteoroid is when you see it that it is large enough", recalled Mrs. Abraham, a meteorite "is when it hits the ground".
She also added that these shooting stars and bolides phenomena could be observed all year round.
The watch-sky network, which has a Twitter account, encourages people who have witnessed these phenomena to fill out a questionnaire declaring what they have observed and indicating the direction and time.
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