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It was around 10:30 pm when the first reports of a traffic light over the Uppsala area. The phenomenon must have also been seen in other parts of Sweden, including the west coast and in Stockholm, Västerås and Sundsvall.
– Looks like it could have been a falling object. It enters an estimated 100 tons per day into Earth’s atmosphere and burns, says Johan Marcopoulos, communications manager for the Swedish Space Agency.
– Depending on the density of the set, they burn for different periods of time. It looks like it could be something like that.
“A great ball of fire”
Eric Stempels is a researcher in the Department of Physics and Astronomy at Uppsala University. He himself saw the light shine through the curtains of his house and says that it is most likely due to a very bright meteor, also called a bolide or fireball, that has burned up in the atmosphere. Through a network of cameras found throughout Sweden, he has been able to establish that the light was shining at exactly the same time in several different places.
“Both this glow and the roar that people have described are consistent with the fact that it was a great ball of fire that burned in this area,” he says.
He says that this type of phenomenon can usually be seen a few times a year from Sweden, but this time the meteor was unusually bright and also burned over a populated area.
– This is not dangerous, rocks like this usually burn higher in the atmosphere and it is very unusual for chunks to fall to the ground, says Eric Stempels.
