‘Wasn’t expecting this’: Witnesses stunned as ‘fireball’ meteor lights up Perth skies

Residents in a major state have been treated to a dazzling astronomical event as a blazing meteor lit up the skies, even taking astronomers by surprise.

Residents in Western Australia have been stunned by a “fireball” meteor that lit up the skies, even taking astronomers by surprise.

The bright fireball passed through the skies about 6am on Sunday over the Central Wheatbelt, producing a brilliant yellow flash and a trail of bright green.

Witnesses were able to catch a glimpse of the early-morning meteor from Perth to the Goldfields, however, experts are yet to determine where it eventually landed.

Residents in Western Australia have been stunned as a meteor lit up the skies on Sunday morning. Picture: Supplied

The Perth Observatory said the astronomical sight was “most likely an iron meteor” which had been “orbiting within the inner Solar System”.

“To shine that brightly, the fireball — technically known as a bolide — would have been about the size of a cricket ball to a basketball,” the observatory said online.

According to Perth Observatory astronomer Matt Woods, the meteor would have been travelling between 16 to 60km per second, leaving behind a trail of green as the built-up friction melted.

It was a sight that took Mr Woods and the Perth observatory team off-guard.

“We weren’t expecting this meteor at all,” he said

“The astronomy community does have wide-field telescope surveys constantly monitoring the night sky, and they occasionally detect larger meteors that are unlikely to cause damage a few hours before they enter the atmosphere.

“However, smaller meteors like this one often go undetected until they appear.”

The ‘fireball’ meteor left a green trail in its wake Picture: Supplied

Despite being an uncommon sight for everyday Australians, Mr Woods said the meteor wasn’t “as rare as you might think”.

“The earth is struck by around a hundred tonnes of debris each year,” he said.

“However, because about 70 per cent of the earth’s surface is covered by water, most meteors fall over oceans or remote areas, making it relatively uncommon for people to witness them.”

Some thought the light was the moon. Picture: Supplied

The meteor was spotted across much of the state. Picture: Supplied

Online, witnesses were dumbfounded by the “spectacular” sight, with some believing it was an aeroplane.

“Never seen anything like it,” one person wrote.

“Thought someone was driving at us with high beams on at first,” said another, who watched it pass overhead from Newdegate.

A resident from Mt Magnet said they initially thought the “huge and burning bright orange-red” light was “the moon until it moved”.

The meteor created a bright orange and red light. Picture: Supplied

Some thought the meteor was the Kosmos 482, a Soviet-era spacecraft that plunged back to earth more than 50 years after its failed launch to Venus.

However, Curtin University astrophysicist Steven Tingay told the ABC it was unlikely the fallen spacecraft, which likely landed over the Indian Ocean on Saturday, though European and US agencies are yet to confirm its exact location.

The meteor comes days after the Eta Aquarids meteor shower lit up the skies in Victoria, though Mr Woods told NewsWire Sunday morning’s meteor was just a “coincidence”.

“(The meteor) wasn’t related to the Eta Aquarids meteor shower; it’s just a coincidence,” he said.

“The Eta Aquarids meteor shower consists of tiny ice and rocky particles left behind by Halley’s comet as it has orbited the sun over millennia.

“In contrast, this meteor was much larger, estimated to be between the size of a cricket ball and a basketball.

“Around this time of year, the earth passes through the trail left by Halley’s comet, but this particular meteor did not originate from that shower; it’s most likely been orbiting around the sun within the inner solar system.”

Originally published as ‘Wasn’t expecting this’: Witnesses stunned as ‘fireball’ meteor lights up Perth skies