Late-night skygazers in France and England saw a dazzling sight as a green-colored meteor streaked across the sky, videos show.
The small asteroid, initially named Sar2667, was spotted by an observatory in Hungary, according to a news release from the International Meteor Organization. The asteroid, with a diameter of about 3.2 feet, was estimated to enter the atmosphere near the English Channel just before 3 a.m. local time on Sunday, Feb. 13.
The meteor was brightest in the southern U.K. and France but could also be seen from Belgium, the Netherlands and Germany, according to a news release from the European Space Agency.
Videos captured the stunning light show. Green illuminated the sky as the meteor appeared, streaking like a shooting star and culminating in an orange explosion, video filmed in Rouen, France, and shared on Twitter by @MegaLuigi shows.
Another video from Brighton, U.K., shared by @KadeFlowers, shows the entire sky filled with the meteor’s orange glow.
“It took my breath away,” the user wrote in comments.
“Just saw it and it was magnificent,” another Twitter user, @Aljibaalu, wrote along with a video. “Green like a bright emerald and then bright orange really quickly.” Video shows the pitch black sky momentarily lit up by the meteor.
In Le Havre, France, webcam footage shared on Twitter by Nahel Belgherze showed the entire city filled with the meteor’s light. The city glows green, white and then orange before darkness descends.
“Incredible lightshow with an audible bang!” another Twitter user, Phil Trease, wrote.
Another video shared by @Petrolhead999 captures the emerald green glow over the water of the English Channel.
Sar2667 is only the seventh asteroid to be identified before entering the Earth’s atmosphere, experts said.
Some fragments of the meteor “may have survived” the fiery blaze of atmospheric entry and landed along the coast in Normandy, France, the European Space Agency said.
The asteroid was later renamed as 2023 CX1, per European officials.
