Large meteor lights up skies in Norway

Norwegian experts say an unusually large meteor was visible over large parts of southern Scandinavia and illuminated southeast Norway with a powerful flash of light for a few seconds as many observers were reported to also hear a roaring sound afterwards.

The Norwegian Meteor Network says it has analyzed and reviewed several videos of the event Sunday and said the meteor first appeared about 90 kilometers (55 miles) north of the capital, Oslo, and continued its trail in a southwest direction before fragmenting in several flashes of light.

“The meteor appeared at 1:08 a.m. on the night of July 25 and was visible for approximately for 5 seconds,” says the network, which had posted a video on the phenomenon on its Twitter site.

Sightings of meteors — space rocks that burn brightly after entering the Earth’s atmosphere at high speed — are not uncommon over Norway and the Norwegian Meteor Network has a number of cameras continuously monitoring the sky.

A meteor that survives passage to the ground is known as a meteorite.

Preliminary data suggested a meteorite may have hit Earth in a large forested area, Finnemarka, not far from Oslo, the Norwegian Meteor Network says.