Amateur stargazers were left amazed after witnessing a meteor light up the sky in England and Scotland.

It was seen just before 10 p.m. on Sunday across the UK, with nearly 120 sightings reported and some reporting a sonic boom across southern England.

The UK Meteor Network, a group of amateur astronomers, described the traveling bright light as a "fireball," saying it was likely that it was part of an asteroid entering the Earth's atmosphere.

According to the American Meteor Society website, a fireball is another term for a "very bright meteor, generally brighter than magnitude -4, which is about the same magnitude of the planet Venus in the morning or evening sky."

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While meteors falling into the Earth's atmosphere is common, asteroid parts usually fall into oceans and uninhabited regions, even masked by the sunlight. Meaning occasions when people can witness a bright fireball are especially rare.

Leaving many who witnessed the meteor to take to social media to post videos of the phenomenon and share their experience of the remarkable sightings. 
 

Source(s): AP, American Meteor Society