Large fireball sighted over New Zealand - eyewitnesses report crackling noises
Created: 07/07/2022, 15:30
A meteorite has been sighted over New Zealand.
Similar phenomena already existed in Bavaria and Austria.
(Iconic image) © Erwin Filimon/dpa
A possible meteorite has been sighted in New Zealand.
On Thursday, some people reported a fireball and flash of light in the sky.
Many initially assumed an earthquake.
New Zealand - A fireball was spotted in the sky on the North Island of New Zealand on Thursday afternoon.
Scientists believe the huge flash of light followed by a plume of smoke could be a meteor.
Popping, rumbling and crackling noises as well as slamming windows made many people believe in an earthquake.
This light spectacle was widely posted and shared on social media.
Under the explosion of light in the sky, some people also reported hair standing on end from the celestial body.
One regularly hears of sighted celestial bodies or possible meteorites and asteroids that could impact.
Seismographs from "Geonet", an information platform that provides information about geological dangers in New Zealand, are believed to have picked up a sound wave from the object.
Scientists with the New Zealand Meteorological Service believe they have spotted the object or its smoke plume on radar.
Fireball in New Zealand could be meteorite
Plumber Curtis Powell captured the beam of light on his dashcam as he drove north of Shannon at 1:39 p.m. Thursday.
"We were driving to a job in Shannon when I saw a blue line fall in the sky, then a massive bright light," he said.
"I realized my dash cam was recording the video and downloaded the video - a once in a lifetime spectacle," he told
theguardian
.
Many people reported the celestial body to the local media in New Zealand.
A user of the New Zealand platform
Weatherwatch
said: "I live in Wainuiomata.
I was afraid that an earthquake would come.
Occasional rattling noise.
Probably about half a dozen loud noises.”
Scientists are faced with a rare phenomenon
As the
Guardian
reports, Dr.
Ian Griffin, director of the Otago Museum, urges the public to retain any photos or videos.
"We could maybe use them to triangulate the position of the thing and where it landed -- if it did," he said.
Finding meteorites is scientifically important.
As they are fairly rare to see and find in New Zealand it would be important to get one.
dr
Duncan Steel, a Wellington-based space scientist who has worked for NASA, explains that the object is likely a meteor.
Seeing one during the day is a rare experience.
“I have only seen one daytime meteor in my life.
They are due to macrometeoroids in the atmosphere arriving very quickly, typically at 30 km per second.
To be seen during the day it would have to be quite large, about the size of a rugby ball or larger - they rarely do that," he said.
Allan Gilmore of Canterbury University's Mt John Observatory explains that the meteor's sparkling light can make hair stand on end.
He told
Today FM
radio station , "People with frizzy hair often hear it, while people without frizzy hair don't hear it."
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