A blue green flickering light with a loud explosion shocked motorists and residents across northeast Scotland in Aberdeen and Inverness on the evening of 29 February. While some residents speculated the "huge flash of bright blue light" was a sonic boom, most believed it was a meteor breaking up.

Police officials in Scotland confirmed receiving numerous calls from eyewitnesses who reported seeing a blue, white or green light in the sky. It could not be confirmed exactly what the bright light was; however police officials said an aircraft crash was ruled out.

Several residents took to social media to post images and videos of what was termed a fireball that was seen far south into Berwickshire and Newcastle at 18:45 local time on 29 February. Meanwhile, the Met Office confirmed that the explosion was not "weather related" as there were no thunderstorms in the area.

"What you've seen is a piece of rock from outer space that has crashed into the earth," said Professor Keith Horne from the St Andrews University, reported BBC News. "When it hits the atmosphere it starts to burn up ... It releases all this energy into the atmosphere which will cause a bright flash and sometimes bits of this explode."

Ross Stewart who was flying a helicopter at the time of the incident said: "I noticed a few small clouds that seemed to be glowing slightly, then the whole sky above the chopper lit up followed by a series of flashes ... I thought we were going to be hit by lightning."

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