A small asteroid reportedly burnt up upon entering Earth’s atmosphere over the English Channel on Monday, with the spectacle visible from southern England and Wales to as far as Paris, France.

The 1m-wide asteroid, designated Sar2667, exploded at around 3am UK time (11am Singapore time), according to media reports.

Hungarian astronomer Krisztian Sarneczky had discovered the object seven hours before its predicted impact, reported the Daily Express.

It is the seventh time that a meteor airburst was discovered before it hit Earth’s atmosphere, Los Alamos National Laboratory airburst specialist Mark Boslough told Wales Online.

A meteor airburst happens when a meteor explodes after entering a planetary body’s atmosphere.

Dr Boslough said that although airbursts similar to the size of Sar2667 happens several times a year, they are rarely discovered in advance.

A 29-second video taken in Brighton and posted by Twitter user KadeFlowers showed the moment the asteroid exploded over the English Channel.

The asteroid can be seen falling, with the blast illuminating the night sky for a split second.

On social media, users said the sight was akin to a shooting star.

Twitter user SouthYeoEast said: “Was outside just before 3am and saw what looked like a shooting star, but it was much bigger and brighter and streaked straight downwards rather than across the sky. It was bright orange and green and lit up the sky with big flashes.”

The European Space Agency said in a tweet on Monday that the asteroid impact being predicted in advance was “a sign of the rapid advancements in global asteroid detection capabilities”.

The agency earlier said that the object was expected to safely strike Earth’s atmosphere over northern France, near the city of Rouen.

In November 2022, the sixth asteroid predicted to enter the Earth’s atmosphere burnt up above Toronto, Canada. The 1m-wide rock caused no harm, the agency said then.