Much Hadham man captures meteor's visible 8-second journey on his doorbell video camera

Thousands of people across the UK – including Hertfordshire and Essex – experienced the sight of a bright meteor streaking across the evening sky on Monday (January 9).

The meteor travelled in a northerly direction and was visible across much of England for about eight seconds just after 8pm.

According to the UK Meteor Network, it was travelling at about 23,000mph when it hit the atmosphere about 55 miles above the ground.

Its visible path was from roughly above Winchester, Hampshire, in the south to somewhere around Northampton in the Midlands before burning up.

It is estimated that the meteor weighed only about 33 grams – just over an ounce – with an orbit around the Sun that was inside Jupiter's orbit.

Much Hadham resident Will Moore caught the start of the meteor's visible journey on a doorbell video. It is visible in the top right-hand corner of his video footage.

Essex Weather Centre asked on Monday: "Anyone witness an object burning up in the atmosphere around 8.02pm? Spectacular sight in the western sky."

One woman replied that she saw it from her sofa in Chelmsford, another said her husband spotted it while walking their dog in Waltham Abbey while another follower said that he saw it as he was finishing a fitness boot camp session: "It was beautiful. Long orange tail. Seemed to last ages then burnt out like a firework."

One wag, still lamenting England's World Cup quarter-final defeat by France in December, replied: "Harry Kane's penalty from Qatar?"