‘Massive’ meteor lights up night sky

Some Aussies were treated to a remarkable sight on Wednesday night, as a “huge” meteor lit up the sky. Watch the video.

Some Aussies were treated to a remarkable sight on Wednesday night, as a “huge” meteor lit up the sky.

The rare sighting sparked a wave of excitement online from social media users.

One video shared online, taken from Clayton in Melbourne’s southeast, shows the meteor descend across the dark sky before burning bright and disappearing.

The rare sight sparked a wave of excitement online from social media users across Melbourne. Picture: Reddit

“Was I the only one to see a meteor tonight! Just chilling at the bar and it flew past the sky!” one user wrote online.

“My boyfriend and I couldn’t believe our eyes it was huge. Biggest fireball I’ve ever seen,” another wrote.

“Was a huge (with a) green and blue coloured streak. So amazing!” another said.

Residents reported seeing the meteor about 8pm from across Victoria including Ballarat, Chirnside Park, Box Hill and the Mornington Peninsula.

Associate Professor of Cultural Astronomy at the University of Melbourne Duane Hamacher said the meteor was a “brilliant fireball”.

“It was clearly a meteor, a brilliant meteor – so fast and clear,” he said.

“Meteors happen all the time, during the day when it’s light or when there’s a lot of cloud cover, and we just don’t see them.

“It’s about being at the right place at the right time. Most of us are inside or on our phones and don’t notice.”

He said the actual meteor can be quite small, like the size of a hand or a finger.

“They just look so big to us because they’re going at such a tremendous speed when they hit the atmosphere – about 15 to 20km a second,” he said.

Originally published as ‘Massive’ meteor lights up night sky