Stunning fireball lights up Japan night sky in dash cam video

A meteorite lit up the night sky over western Japan on Tuesday night in a video captured on a driver’s dash cam.

Footage filmed in Kagoshima showed a ball of light around 11pm local time.

Sightings of the meteorite were reported by residents in both Kagoshima and Miyazaki prefectures.

Fireballs are caused by friction as a meteorite enters the atmosphere and slows down considerably.

Almost all space debris breaks into tiny pieces before hitting the ground, according to the US space agency NASA.