A spectacular fireball streaked across northwestern Europe Sunday night, captured by a network of sky-watching cameras in Belgium, France, Luxembourg, the Netherlands and Germany. The incandescent object, first spotted at 53 miles altitude, burned through twilight skies around 6:55 p.m. local time, visible to thousands as it moved rapidly northeast.

Astronomers quickly calculated the trajectory using AllSky7 camera data, pinpointing where fragments might have landed. The task became easier when news organizations reported buildings in Rhineland-Palatinate damaged by falling debris. One house in Koblenz suffered roof punctures from at least one larger meteorite that crashed through into an unoccupied bedroom below.

Space rocks of this size fall to Earth every couple of weeks, mostly over oceans or remote areas. This rare urban impact marks the latest building to fall victim to these rocky vandals from beyond. While several fragments have been recovered, meteorite hunters are now racing to Germany, posting travel plans online in hopes of finding hundreds more pieces. The event provides a rare opportunity to study meteorites that contain clues about the solar system's chaotic past, all while giving one German homeowner an unexpected renovation project.