Brixham coastguards were inundated with reports of strange lights. Monday night's sightings have been put down to a rare natural sunset phenomenon known as the 'green flash'. Initially it was believed the lights may have been a possible meteor shower, but now astronomers believe the green lights in the sky were probably a rarely-seen atmospheric event which only happens when the sky is particularly clear at the last moment of the setting sun and observers see the upper rim of the sun blazing with an emerald green colour for a few seconds before disappearing below the horizon. It is supposed to be a rare event seen by very few people.
A meteor shower sparked panic reports of strange lights in the sky and distress flares being fired in the English Channel, coastguards say. The amazing sight was witnessed by people across the Solent and as far away as Devon, Jersey and France at about 9.30pm on Monday night.
Reports of strange lights in the sky and distress flares being fired in the English Channel actually turned out to be a meteor shower, coastguards say. Calls were made to coastguards across England's south coast, including Cornwall, Devon and Hampshire, reporting white and green flares. Reports were also made to coastguards in Jersey and France for about 30 minutes from about 2130 BST on Monday.
Strange lights spotted over the English Channel prompted hundreds of people to call the Coastguard. Fears that the white and green flashes were distress flares fired off by a ship in trouble proved unfounded, when it was revealed the lights were probably a meteor shower. Calls were made to stations from Hampshire down to Brixham in Devon and across to Jersey and France at about 9.30pm on Monday.