A falling meteor lit up the night sky above the northern Netherlands on Tuesday. People reported witnessing a fireball with some saying it was bright enough for them to be able to read a newspaper.

Astronomer Theo Jurriens from Groningen University confirmed that it was an extremely bright meteor which broke into three pieces after hitting the atmosphere. The flashes in the sky were reported at seven o'clock in the evening.

 
The atsronomer says he received more than 100 reports of sightings of the meteor from people throughout the country. The KNMI national weather centre also received a large number of calls reporting the event.

"The fireball was really clear even though it wasn't fully dark at the time," said Jurriens.

People in the region reported also hearing a bang as the meteor burnt up, some also said the buildings they were in started to shake.

If you have films of the incident or photos then send them too us - or if you have photos of other meteors burning in the night sky then send those too and we'll publish the best ones. Send them to

photo: twitter.com/jandevries12