A HUGE fireball has been spotted flying above southern and central Spain and parts of Portugal.
The Calar Alto Observatory in Gergal, Almeria, confirmed the passing of the ‘meteor’ in the early hours of Sunday morning.
The scientific outpost said the ‘really large fireball’ crossed the skies of both Spain and Portugal at around 12.46am.
The alien object was also detected by several other observatories, including in Toledo, Huelva, Sierra Nevada in Granada, Sevilla and Tarragona.
READ MORE: This is when and how the Gibraltar Strait will disappear, according to scientists
Scientists branded the event as ‘spectacular’, while many took to social media to share videos and pictures of the moment.
According to the preliminary analysis carried out by Professor José María Madiedo (Andalusian Institute of Astrophysics IAA-CSIC), the object had a cometary origin, and entered the atmosphere at a speed of 161,000km/hr .
It began to ignite some 122km above sea level, before going dark at around 54km.
The Calar Alto detection station (CAHA), together with the station that the Institute of Astrophysics of Andalusia (IAA-CSIC) has in Sierra Nevada, and others located in different parts of Spain, are part of the Smart project led by Madiedo.