'Fireball' spotted shooting through the sky over Horsham

Residents report seeing the ball of flame – a meteorite – flashing westwards over the town on Monday night.

And others said they had witnessed it in Storrington and Billingshurst.

A number of people took to social media to report their sightings.

One described it as a ‘sizeable white/green ball of light’ and another described it as ‘amazing, with a bright green tail.’

A meteorite is a solid piece of space debris that survives its passage through the atmosphere to reach the surface of a planet.

When it enters the atmosphere gases cause it to heat up and radiate energy.

It then becomes a meteor and forms a fireball, also known as a shooting star or falling star.

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