A large fireball, likely made up of ancient space rock older than Earth itself, tore through the atmosphere over Northland in the early hours, briefly turning the night sky into day.
The sudden flash of light left many Northlanders speculating as to what it may have been. Astronomers have confirmed it was an unusually large fireball, that likely broke up off Northland’s west coast.
It was seen just after 1.10am, waking some residents and leaving others questioning if they had imagined it.
The flash was so bright it made analysing it harder for researchers.
Fireball Aotearoa researcher and Tauranga Astronomical Society president David Greig said they hope to have more details of the track the meteor took available soon.
“This fireball is most likely a ‘rock’ left over from the formation of the solar system. It would have been orbiting the Sun for billions of years until 1.10am this morning when the Earth finally got in the way.”
Greig explained that the “fire” seen across the sky is because of the rock passing through our atmosphere at high-speed causing compression and heat.
“The bright flash is when the rock becomes so hot it explodes. It appears to be an exceptionally large fireball. At this stage it looks like the fireball ended up off the west coast of Northland, probably west of Dargaville. We hope to have some more detailed info about its trajectory and orbit etc.”
The flash was widely noticed across the region with many sharing their experiences and videos captured on security footage online.
One Kaitāia resident, who asked not to be named, told the Northland Age he saw it on his camera footage after seeing the conversation about it online.
“Unfortunately, I didn’t get to see it as I was inside at the time. I only had a look at my cameras cause a friend had seen the Facebook posts and asked if I had anything on my cameras.”
He said he was fascinated by astronomical events and often looked for meteor showers.
“I’m quite interested in astrophotography, so this kind of stuff really excites me. I’m usually up trying to get a cool shot of the moon or planets with my SLR. So getting a shot of a comet or meteor shower is one of my photography bucket list items.”
He said the last meteor he caught on security camera was in January 2023 and he has been hunting ever since.
“This one was much brighter. When I saw it on the camera I thought I had captured a lightning strike it was that bright. I hadn’t seen one before 2023 so it felt like a once-in-a-lifetime kind of event, but now I know we could get more in the future I’ll definitely be looking out more often.”
Jaz Payne, from Kaitāia, saw the flash on his security cameras and was both confused and curious about the sight.
“I thought it was quite beautiful, but a little scary at the same time … I did see the flash but assumed it was a car turning around the end of the street.”
Rosalina Puhi said she was confused by the bright flash.
“I was thinking so many people were awake at the time. I woke up to go to the toilet and I thought someone turned the lights on,” she quipped
Fireballs Aotearoa collects reports and footage from the public to help researchers better understand the origins of objects that enter the Earth’s atmosphere. Residents who witness events are encouraged to report what they saw on its website.