What was the enormous ball of fire in last night's sky?

Dozens of people across the Low Countries reported seeing a bright ball of fire in the sky last night.  The spectacle set social media ablaze shortly after 21 CET with members of the public posting photos and videos.

VRT weatherman Frank Deboosere has identified the culprit: "It's really just a falling star or meteor" he told VRT News.  "Because it was a particularly bright specimen and it was dry with clear skies it was clearly visible in the heavens.  This also explains why so many people saw it."

A falling star or meteor is a stone or particle of dust that enters the earth's atmosphere from space.

Frank Deboosere: "This happens at such amazing speed that the stone starts to glow and that creates the image of a ball of fire.  Last night the stone was probably several centimetres big and that’s pretty big!"

On earth such stones are known as meteorites.  Frank Deboosere believes it is highly unlikely last night's culprit will ever be identified.

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