Watch: Huge green meteor streaks across UK sky

  • 02/01/2018
YouTube/David Cooper
Photo credit: YouTube/David Cooper

A giant meteor shot through the skies over the United Kingdom on New Year's Eve.

The bright green streak was only visible for less than 10 seconds, but it was caught on camera by more than 400 people.

It broke into two pieces before burning up completely, never reaching the Earth.

The giant piece of burning rock appeared in the midst of the current active meteor shower, Quadrantids, which is expected to peak on January 3 - but the coinciding supermoon will make it difficult to see.

Behind the bright reflection of the moon, there could be up to 40 meteors streaking through the sky in peak hour.

It's ignited UFO speculation online, with many Twitter users making some bold speculations about what they saw.

However the International Meteor Organisation assured skywatchers there was no extra-terrestrial activity on New Year's Eve, and that what they had seen was simply a meteor that broke up upon entering the Earth's atmosphere.

Newshub.