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A man has told of his shock after witnessing what he believes was a meteorite fall from the sky and land near his home in Wakefield.

Dan Charlton was stood in his back garden in Outwood in the early hours of the morning on Tuesday, May 6, when he suddenly saw a green light in the sky and heard a “whoosh” sound as the object plummeted to earth.

He went out the next day and found what he thought was the meteorite lying in the road of a nearby street, saying that it was “warm and smelt burnt”.

Dan Charlton witnessed a meteorite fall outside of his home in Outwood in the dead of night | Jonathan Gawthorpe

Dan is now trying to verify what he found was and has met up with an academic from the University of Leeds, who is continuing to do tests.

Dan said that he couldn’t sleep on the night of the interstellar incident so went downstairs to make a cup of tea.

He said: “I went outside and looked up and saw this light and thought ‘is that a firework?’

“It was really close. It came down in a straight line and what was interesting was it had a green flame like a hue that burnt and then disappeared. You could hear it make a brief ‘whoosh’ sound and then I was expecting a big band but it was just silent. There was no one else around and I thought ‘that’s definitely a meteorite’.

Dan Charlton has taken the suspected meteorite to be assessed at the University of Leeds by
Professor Simon Kelley — Dan Charlton has taken the suspected meteorite to be assessed at the University of Leeds by Professor Simon Kelley | Jonathan Gawthorpe

“I was fascinated. If I had my camera I could’ve caught the last second. That would’ve been awesome.”

Dan said that after the display - which lasted a matter of seconds - he searched online for what it could be and found posts suggesting it could be debris from Halley’s Comet.

He said that he went out to try and find the debris the next morning and found a rock on an adjacent street that was “noticeably warm and smelt burnt like it had been in a fire”. He also said the rock was noticeable as it had a “black crust”.

The 'meteorite' being assessed under a microscope | Jonathan Gawthorpe

After taking the rock home he spoke to a geologist who saw a picture of it and said it “appears to be a meteorite”.

Dan said: “He said that it would have a light magnetic field so I got a magnetic and found that it worked.”

He has now taken it to the University of Leeds - keeping it in a wrap of tin foil the whole time - where he met with Professor Simon Kelley from the School of Earth and Environment.

Dan said: “He looked at it a few times under the microscope. He wasn’t 100% convinced but he didn’t really know what the rock was. He suggested it could be volcanic.”

The professor took a sample of the rock for further analysis.

Wakefield man who claims 'meteorite' landed near Outwood home gets it verified at University of Leeds

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