'Is it a bird...is it plane...no it's actually a meteor'

Undoubtedly this is a very odd question, but it is one that has provoked a difference of opinion between residents in Londonderry and Armagh Observatory over an aerial sighting on New Year’s Eve.

A Prehen resident contacted the Sentinel and provided two images captured on his iPhone around 8pm on December 31 which show a glowing orange object streaking through the sky above his home, which he thinks was a meteorite.

Jeffrey Gallagher said: "At first I thought it was a flare or one of those Chinese lanterns because of the orange glow. Then I thought it was possibly a helicopter or a plane because it was moving over houses.

"But, there were no flashing lights, just a constant orange glow and once it was overhead it made no sound whatsoever and the sighting lasted for about 45 seconds to a minute."

This paper was also contacted by another man reporting a similar phenomenon at around the same time on New Year's Eve. The Drumahoe resident, who did not want to be named said that it was his belief that the object was part of a meteor burning up as it hit the atmosphere.

"It had a tail of light on it and was moving at speed. It probably did not hit the earth but burned out completely in the sky," he said.

However, when the Sentinel contacted the Armagh Observatory for their opinion on the sighting an expert there he panned any suggestion the object was a meteor entering the earth’s atmosphere.

Professor Mark Bailey MBE from Armagh Observatory told the Sentinel: "It was almost certainly a Chinese lantern. These are little bags that are lit and and a result fill up with hot air and float away."

The astronomical expert also stated that sightings of what turn out to be Chinese lanterns are being increasingly reported around festive periods.