In the early morning hours, officers of the Surrey Roads Police in the United Kingdom were en route to respond to a call for an intruder in the town of Ewell.
However, their attention was captured by a spectacle of a different kind – a meteor flying through the sky, which burnt out in a flash of orange. The footage was captured on the vehicle’s dashcam.
Meteors, also commonly known as shooting stars, are natural phenomena that occur when space debris, such as small rocks or dust particles, enter the Earth’s atmosphere.
When they enter the Earth’s atmosphere, the friction between the space debris and the air causes the debris to heat up and create a bright streak of light in the sky, which is what we commonly see as a shooting star.
Meteors can occur at any time of the year, but there are specific periods, such as meteor showers, when the frequency of meteor sightings increases.
These meteor showers are typically associated with the debris left behind by comets, and as the Earth passes through the debris field, the number of meteors visible in the night sky increases.
Despite their striking appearance, most meteors burn entirely in the Earth’s atmosphere, never reaching the surface.
However, larger meteors, known as meteorites, can survive the journey through the Earth’s atmosphere and land on the ground.
When they do, they can provide scientists with valuable information about the solar system’s composition and our planet’s history.
Meteors have been observed and recorded by humans for centuries, and they continue to capture our imagination and inspire wonder and awe.
