However, Taavi Niittee of the Tõrva Astronomy Club said the photographs taken most likely captured planes, or rather their condensation trails lit by low-angle sunlight.

The effect occurs when a contrail left by a high-flying aircraft is lit by the sun low on the horizon, as it is at this time of year, turning a bright orange or red hue ahead of sunset and resembling a burning object.

Contrails consist of small ice crystals formed from water vapor in aircraft exhaust and can persist in the sky for some time depending on weather conditions.

If the aircraft is moving at certain angles relative to the observer, the glowing trail can look as though it is "falling" from the sky.

Niittee said there is nothing unusual about the sighting, describing it as relatively common on clear evenings at this time of year.

A meteor, by contrast, appears when a small body from space enters the atmosphere at high speed and begins to glow, typically lasting only a few seconds.

A contrail can remain visible for several minutes or longer, making this the simplest way to tell the two apart.

Niittee advised anyone seeing something similar to check air traffic, for example the Flightradar24 site, where you can see flights in real time, as well as all flights in the preceding 24 hours.

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