Meteor likely cause of bright light, explosion

The bright light and explosion which was seen and heard by residents mainly from the Southern Province last night was likely the result of a meteor burning up in the atmosphere and subsequently exploding, the Arthur C Clarke Institute for Modern Technologies stated. 

Saraj Gunasekara, Research Scientist at the Institute, said based on eyewitness accounts, last night's event was highly likely caused by a meteor. 

He noted that a meteor, once it enters Earth's atmosphere, starts to burn up and its speed accelerates. At some point during entry, once the meteor's speed and heat from the atmosphere reaches a certain level, the remnants of the meteor can explode, he explained.

There have been no reports of any damage caused by the explosion that occurred last night. 

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