Stunning new footage shows car-sized fireball exploding over Australia’s night sky before crashing ‘into the ocean’
- Meteor spotted coming through atmosphere on Royal Adelaide Hospital’s CCTV
- Skies of Victoria and South Australia received the spectacular light show
- An onlooker from Victoria described the lights as ‘brighter than Jupiter’
- Astronomers have estimated the asteroid could have landed in the ocean
Stunning new footage has emerged of a ‘car-sized’ meteor that hurtling through the night sky over southern Australia.
A CCTV camera on Royal Adelaide Hospital’s helipad captured the moment the object burns up as it comes through earth’s atmosphere.
At first only a distant glow, the ‘fireball’ – as classified by NASA – shoots quickly towards the earth’s surface before quickly catching fire and then burning out.
An onlooker from Brighton, Melbourne, described seeing a large round fireball with a ‘long tail fall from the sky like it was diving into the bay’.
The meteor was spotted on Wednesday night by several people over southern cities in Australia.
‘I was standing on my balcony. As it hit on the horizon, it exploded silently right in front of me,’ he told the Herald Sun.
Others took to Facebook to share their amazement at the captivating sight.
A CCTV camera on Royal Adelaide Hospital’s helipad captured the moment the object burns up as it comes through earth’s atmosphere
As it appears to break through the earth’s atmosphere it quickly begins to burn up and explode, brightening the entire night sky for a new seconds
Astronomers believe it crashed into the ocean as no land sightings have been made since
‘I saw the biggest orange flames and the whole night sky light up about 10:45 tonight whilst out in horse paddock. It scared the stuffing out of me,’ one woman said
‘I saw the biggest orange flames and the whole night sky light up about 10:45 tonight whilst out in horse paddock. It scared the stuffing out of me,’ one woman wrote.
Another person from Victoria phoned into 3AW to describe the glow as ‘brighter than Jupiter’.
The meteor entered the stratosphere at a speed of 44,100km/h before exploding the 1.6 kiloton force in to the atmosphere, according to The Advertiser.
Astronomers have estimated the asteroid could have landed in the ocean.
The Country Fire Authority received several calls from people across Melbourne who thought a fire had been started.
Australians on the west coast witnessed what appeared to be another fireball shooting across the sky this weekend, but it turned out to be an Emirates A380 plane flying in from Dubai
The meteor is then believed to have crossed the border, with sightings coming from Adelaide’s CBD.
Last night dozens of Australians believed they have spotted the orange flame of a second meteor within a week.
But it was quickly revealed to be an Emirates A380 plane flying in from Dubai.