Fireball spotted in skies above Netherlands

An exceptionally bright fireball was spotted in the skies all across the Netherlands on Thursday night. Dozens of people in the Netherlands as well as Belgium reported seeing the bright streak of light around 9:00 p.m. It was very likely a meteor, though that can not be said with absolute certainty yet, Felix Bettonvil of Leiden Observatory said to AD.

Dozens of people in Noord-Holland, Groningen, Noord-Brabant and Flevoland reported seeing the fireball. There were also dozens of reports in Belgium and to Noodweer Benelux, according to the newspaper. It's quite rare for so many reports to come in about a meteor, Bettonvil said to AD.

"It's a small rock that enters at a speed of tens of thousands of kilometers per hour. It lights the sky brightly and we then see it as a fireball", weatherman Frank Deboosere said to HLN.be. "It is often no bigger than one centimeter." According to him, the falling star can be very bright. "As bright as the full moon or even brighter."

Various cameras, including one in Noordwijk, recorded the fireball.

Wie heeft hem ook gezien? Deze vuurbol/meteoriet gisteravond 21u. Moet boven NL zijn geweest maar ook te zien vanuit de Alpen! pic.twitter.com/UhhyGkdgCW

— Roel van den Bekerom (@WeermanRoel) September 22, 2017

Er is nu ook mooi beeld: heldere vuurbol boven België en Nederland https://t.co/a4T2SbU6dr #hln pic.twitter.com/UuH1OUzz1P

— HLN.BE (@HLN_BE) September 22, 2017