Low-Flying Meteor Explodes Over New Zealand, Illuminating Night Sky
An explosion of orange, blue and white lit up the skies over New Zealand
Local experts agree that the blinding explosion was probably a low-flying meteor
YouTube user Josh Sherbone captured the stunning flash on his car’s dash cam in Tauranga, New Zealand. In the video below, the explosion illuminates the night sky.
Shortly after the explosion, hundreds of eyewitness accounts of the blinding light began flooding news stations and social media. WeatherWatch in New Zealand said that they were receiving reports of the flash from around the island country
Something fast and bright just briefly illuminated the sky west of Auckland. Zipped across the blackness. Extraordinary.
— John Campbell (@JohnJCampbell) February 11, 2015
We believe this was most likely a meteor (shooting star) or a meteorite (small one that hits the surface). Put simply: “Wow!”
— WeatherWatch.co.nz (@WeatherWatchNZ) February 11, 2015
Auckland’s Civil Defense sent out a tweet saying the flash was “definitely not lightning, most likely a meteor
Fletcher Hodge was in the car with a friend in the city of Rotorua when they noticed the sky turning a bright blue, he told The New Zealand Herald. “The next minute it was practically at the right-hand side
Noel Manford of the Palmerston North Astronomical Society told the Herald he estimated that the meteor would have been the size of a cricket ball that was traveling at about 89,477 miles per hour
“This thing probably broke off from some impact collision between a couple of asteroids a few million years ago
Seismologist Lara Bland of the research institute GNS Science told local news site Stuff that the meteor appeared to shake the ground for about 14 to 15 seconds
Astronomer Grant Christie — who, according to Stuff saw the meteor while driving home from an observatory — estimated that the meteor could have detonated up to 30 kilometers (18 miles) above Earth
Below, watch another dash cam recording filmed from a car driving in Auckland: