This amazing photo was captured by Graham Harkness yesterday evening. Source: Graham Harkness

IS IT A bird? Is it a plane? No, it’s actually a fireball tearing across the night sky yesterday evening.

This amazing photo was captured by Graham Harkness (You can view his great portfolio here) last night at about 10.30pm. Taking photos of the night sky in Dalkey, Harkness managed to capture this rare sight.

So what exactly is it?

Astronomy Ireland told TheJournal.ie, that Harkness managed to capture a rare photograph of a meteor burning up in the earth’s atmosphere.

“It’s definitely a fireball, it’s difficult to catch a photo of it, he was very fortuitous,” said David Moore of Astronomy Ireland.

By looking at sky maps, Moore estimated that the fireball in the photo is about 100 kilometres off the ground.

“It’s towards the north east, unfortunately it wouldn’t have made land fall in Ireland. Most likely, the drop zone could have been on the west coast of Britain, close to the border with Scotland. I would be surprised if there weren’t reports on the west coast of Britain about it as it is rather bright,” said Moore.

Did you see the fireball in the sky last night? If so, let us know at tips@thejournal.ie. If you’re interested in star gazing through the most powerful telescopes in Ireland, Astronomy Ireland is holding a public watch on January 28 at their HQ in Blanchardstown. Click here for more information. 

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