Sonic boom: What is it and how is it caused?

Computer generated picture of a supersonic aircraft

Lots of people were woken up across the south of England by a very loud noise called a sonic boom early on Sunday morning.

The loud noise, which some described as sounding like an "explosion," was heard just after 4am.

A sonic boom is caused by the shock waves created when an object travels through the air faster than the speed of sound.

The Metropolitan Police confirmed the sound was a sonic boom caused by Royal Air Force planes and that there was "no cause for public concern".

Typhoons can travel at twice the speed of sound

Why was it caused by the RAF jets?

The jets were used after an aircraft got into trouble and they were needed to help.

To get to the location of the aircraft that was in trouble, pilots of the jets got special permission to go faster than the speed of sound, which is what created the sonic boom.

It's called going supersonic and RAF jets are only given permission to go supersonic in emergencies, usually when they are required to catch up with another aircraft.