§ Mr. WilsonTo ask the Secretary of State for Defence what information he has on the force and nature of the earth tremor which affected parts of south-west Scotland on 17 November.
Mr. JacksonI have been asked to reply.
The tremor referred to was detected by a NERC British Geological Survey seismograph at 00.09 on 18 November. The tremor was not an earthquake or other seismic event 70W in the ground or underwater, but was almost certainly a sonic boom in the air. Such events are common throughout Britain and are usually caused by aircraft. However, on this occasion the available data is not consistent with an aircraft sonic boom and, with the possible sighting of a fireball at about 00.17 in Rosshire, the most probable interpretation is that the tremor was caused by a supersonic meteor in the atmosphere.