Meteorite lights up the sky over New Zealand.
Credit / Matt Tolich
Bright lights in the sky over New Zealand tonight were likely from a meteor, an expert says.
Skywatchers across the North Island reported a possible meteor or space junk sighting about 9pm. Sightings were reported around the country, from Whāngārei to Auckland, to Rotorua, the Hawke's Bay and Nelson.
AucklandAstronomical Society president Bill Thomas said he couldn't rule out the light coming from a falling satellite, but he thought it more likely the cause was a meteorite.
"There's a visible sort of tail, whereas a satellite [is] like a point of light moving across the sky ... bright [meteorites] like that one as not that common in the one place, but they're common worldwide."
Photos posted online showed a dazzling light in the sky.
Thomas said the suspected meteor looked like it was breaking up. Stoney meteorites tend to break up, whereas those made of iron and nickel were stronger and less likely to.
The space rock might have been the size of a football, he said.
