A VIDEO which appeared to show a meteor crashing into the sea near Penarth is actually part of an artistic project.

Artist Mark James posted an astonishing video on Twitter on Wednesday evening which appeared to show a meteor plummeting from the sky.

Today though, Mr James has revealed it is actually a hoax, and part of a project he is currently undertaking called A Response.

It shows the return of a gold disc sent out to communicate with extraterrestrial life forms in the 1970s.

Mr James is putting on an exhibition around the project with the help of members of the Welsh band Super Furry Animals.

He said: "The majority of the messages that were sent out were quite self-satisfied, suggesting how advanced we’d become as western civilisations.

"The dramatic fireball seen across Cardiff Bay on Wednesday evening, which looked like a meteor, was the disc being returned to us by those who had found the original Voyager record.

"It is part of my work for Cardiff Contemporary visual arts biennial.

"It’s a response from whatever life lives out beyond the stars, who might be watching us and the state our world is in, to say "what have you done?" as we continue to foster wars and pollute the planet at will.

"By displaying the new gold disc with new and updated messages, producing videos of fire in the sky that get media attention and creating a soundtrack with the help of Cian and Bunf from Super Furry Animals, I hope it might offer a moment of reflection for people."

The exhibition takes place from October 20 until November 19 at The Angel hotel in Cardiff.

It is open from 11am-6pm from Tuesday to Sunday.