A bright meteor lit up the evening sky above Sydney on Thursday night, with people spotting it from hundreds of kilometres away across Sydney, Canberra, and regional New South Wales.
The flash appeared around 6:30 pm and quickly attracted attention from many witnesses. Astrophysicist Dr. Brad Tucker confirmed that the object was a meteor.
According to Dr. Tucker, the meteor’s greenish colour suggests it likely contained iron and nickel. He also explained that the bright flash seen during its path indicates it may have broken apart while travelling through the atmosphere.
“It was likely around 30 to 50 centimetres in size based on its brightness,” he said.
Dr. Tucker, an associate professor at Australian National University, said experts identify meteors by observing their colour and speed. He noted that space debris usually appears more yellow, while meteors move much faster and pass across the sky in a shorter period of time.
He added that meteor sightings are not unusual, with larger meteors appearing over Australia roughly once a month. However, this event stood out because it happened early in the evening when many people were still outside.
“It happened at a good time, so many people were awake and able to see it,” he said.
One witness, Junjie Yu, captured the meteor on his dashcam while driving eastbound on the M5 near Moorebank.
He said he suddenly noticed a streak of light moving across the sky and described the experience as exciting.
“I had never seen anything like it before,” he said, adding that many drivers around him appeared to slow down after noticing the bright object.
Another witness, Dean Bailey, saw the meteor while looking for a parking spot at Gledswood Hills Country Club.
Several reports were later submitted to the International Meteor Organisation. Dr. Ellie Sansom, director of Curtin University’s Desert Fireball Network, encouraged more people to share sightings.
She explained that collecting reports from different locations can help scientists estimate where any meteor fragments may have landed and better understand the object’s speed and path.
Dr. Sansom also noted that while fireballs are detected regularly, it is uncommon for such a bright event to appear over a populated area at a time when so many people can witness it.
She said the object was likely a sizeable meteoroid rather than space debris, mainly because of the speed at which it travelled.