A loud boom and tremors heard and felt in Sabah on 31 January was actually due to something out of this world - a bolide.

Astronomy communicator and official spokesperson for Sabah Stargazers, an NGO focused on astronomy and astrophotography, Emma Zulaiha Zulkifli, confirmed this when contacted by Rojak Daily.

Confirmed from visuals

Emma said that the NGO had asked for people who managed to record the object to send it to them and the visuals prove that it was a bolide.

"A fun fact to share. Around 100 tonnes of outer space dust reaches the earth's surface each day!

"That's roughly the weight of about 100 Wira cars," said Emma who explained that bolides, were however, extremely rare.

"Meteors, fireballs and bolides are kinda like cousins. What makes them different is their mass and size.

"Bolides are special because they explode in a bright terminal flash at its end and often with visible fragmentation," she said.

The bolide had caused quite a stir among locals especially those in the west coast of Sabah, Lawas in Sarawak and Brunei who said that they heard and felt a "strange explosion" at around 11am on 31 January.

Many also reported seeing a bright light in the sky after the explosion.