A suspected meteor shower has caused a stir on social media by lighting up the sky across much of Scotland.
Thousands saw the dark sky light up for a split second – with sightings reported from Fife to Inverness.
CCTV footage and dashcams caught the spectacular spectacle that even triggered calls to the police on Monday evening.
A Police Scotland spokeswoman said they began receiving calls at around 6.55pm on Monday evening.
She said: “One told us the sky had been lit up with an object like a fireball. Another caller said there was a very loud bang and others said the house shook.
“We know police in Inverness and in the south also received calls – it was seen by people across Scotland.
“We have checked and been told it was likely to be a meteor shower.”
A Ministry of Defence spokeswoman said they would not discuss if there was any link to any operations in the area.
The Met Office said the flashes of light were not weather related and said they were more than likely related to meteors.
A spokesman said: “In terms of weather there is nothing that would account for this over Scotland at this time.
“It sounds like it is not a weather related phenomenon and while it could have been a number of things, the most likely is a meteor shower.”
Looks as if the flash has come from a meteor burning up in the atmosphere, lighting up the full sheet of cloud sitting at around 2,000ft.
— Sean Batty (@SeanBattySTV) February 29, 2016
STV weather expert Sean Batty, confirmed this theory saying: “Looks as if the flash has come from a meteor burning up in the atmosphere, lighting up the full sheet of cloud sitting at around 2,000ft.”
#Meteor So did anyone else see a FIREBALL last night, or was it just a BRIGHT LIGHT ??? pic.twitter.com/nXxgpepov8
— Windy Wilson (@WindyWilson88) March 1, 2016
Perthshire weather expert Windy Wilson tweeted: “#Meteor So did anyone else see a FIREBALL last night, or was it just a BRIGHT LIGHT ???”