Meteor explodes over the English Channel (20th of March 2021) - Were there any unusual radio signals??

On Saturday the 20th of March 2021 at approximately 14:53 UTC, a large meteor entered the earths atmosphere and burnt up over the English Channel.

According to a news report on the BBC website, this resulted in a large sonic boom as the meteor exploded.

Massive bang over #Dorchester around 20 minutes ago. Any sound nerds know what it is? #Dorset. pic.twitter.com/tHnHEifhhF

— Ollie Peart (@Ollieep) March 20, 2021

The meteor probably burnt up at a height of about 100kms which meant it would have been visible over quite a large area.

The photo above is from a dashcam on the island of Jersey.

This image from a weather satellite shows a flash over the Bristol Channel. 

Note however how much the photo is distorted which suggests that perhaps the photo was taken from a geostationary satellite over the equator and it is looking at the UK from a low elevation. That 'white dot' may not be actually over the Bristol Channel but it could be maybe 200kms further south. Note that while the clouds in this picture might be say 5kms above the ground level, the flash is about 100kms up.

There are other reports of a meteor burning up over the English Channel.... see HERE

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Any unusual radio signals???

As this large meteor burnt up at a height of about 100kms above the earths surface, it would have left a trail of ionised gas in its wake.

I know it's a long shot but I wonder if anyone noticed any unusual signals at about 14:53 UTC on the 20th of March 2021?

Example. Were you on a digital mode like FT8 on 28 MHz, 50 MHz or 70 MHz? If your WST-X programme is still running from Saturday then you can go back and have a look. Your logbook of received signals is up on the PSK Reporter website for 24 hours after the event.

Example. Were you listening on the FM band (88-108MHz)? Were you using an SDR receiver and recording the band?

If you heard anything then get in touch or leave a comment.

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Update 25th March 2021: In the hours after the meteor burnt up, I had a look at the PSK Reporter website and looked at some of the FT8 signals that were heard by stations in the UK, Ireland & France on the 28 MHz & 50 MHz bands.

(FT8 is a digital mode where signals are sent in 15 second bursts)

I have put together maps below for several stations. My own conclusion is that there are signs of some meteor scatter activity over the north coast of Brittany and Normandy but I don't think we can be 100% sure about any individual reception report.

I'd suggest that the results show that something happened in this general area but I'm not sure we can infer anything about the exact direction the meteor was traveling.

I have included the time stamps for each of the paths and you can decide for yourself if they are indeed due to this meteor burning up.

See below...