Video: Scandinavian Fireball Sighting

On Jan. 17, 2009, at 1909 UT, a meteoroid of unknown size hit Earth's atmosphere over Scandinavia and exploded with a thunderous, rumbling boom. The fireball was so bright it turned the nighttime sky blue.

The movie was recorded by an automated video camera belonging to Roger Svensson in Sweden. Jacob Kuiper of the Dutch National Weather Service says the phones at his offices were ringing off the hook. "The Dutch Coast Guard has been overwhelmed with eyewitness reports, sometimes 20 phone calls in a few minutes." Observers reporting to the Danish astronomy web site Astronomibladet say the fireball's brightness exceeded that of a full Moon; early evening drivers "could not help noticing it, despite being blinded by the opposite traffic."