‘Fireball’ seen hurtling through sky over UK

A “fireball” spotted hurtling through the sky in Lincolnshire was probably the remains of a rocket booster.

The flaming ball with a bright streak trailing behind it was seen shooting over homes across the region and beyond at about 03:45 GMT.

It was also seen in Norfolk and parts of Yorkshire and social media posts suggest it was spotted as far away as the Netherlands.

Horncastle astronomer Paul Money said the reports he had seen so far suggested it was the remains of a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket that launched a series of Elon Musk’s Starlink satellites earlier this month.

Rocket boosters help launch spacecraft into space.

Mr Money said they deliver the satellite into the correct orbit before eventually dropping down to Earth and burning up.

“It was quite bright so it does seem to have been quite a substantial object. So I suspect it was actually the rocket booster itself,” he said.

Tom Fawcett said he spotted it in the sky over Skegness, not far from the seafront.

“I just looked up and saw a really bright light in the sky, so got my phone out and started recording.

“I’ve seen shooting stars before, but this was definitely a one-off,” he said.

SpaceX, which has been contacted for comment, has launched 14 Falcon 9 Starlink rockets so far this year.