Cricket Ball-Sized Meteor Lights Up Western Australian Sky: A Mother’s Day Surprise
Early risers in Western Australia were treated to a spectacular sight on Sunday morning as a bright meteor streaked across the sky. From Perth to the Goldfields, social media was abuzz with reports of a "fireball" around 6 AM. Experts at the Perth Observatory believe it was likely a small, iron-rich meteor, providing a dazzling, albeit unexpected, Mother's Day surprise.
Matthew Woods from the Perth Observatory explained, "It looks like it may have entered the atmosphere over the Central Wheatbelt heading from the north to the south around 5:57 AM." He estimated its size to be between a cricket ball and a basketball. The meteor's fiery entry was captured by surveillance cameras, offering a rare and stunning visual.
The meteor heated up due to atmospheric friction, reaching speeds between 16 and 60 kilometers per second. This intense heat caused the outer layer to melt, resulting in the vibrant green and orange glow witnessed by many. "We're very lucky it happened just before sunrise," Woods noted, emphasizing the fortuitous timing of the event.
While the timing coincided with the Eta Aquarids meteor shower, Woods believes this particular fireball was unrelated due to its significant size. Astrophysicist Steven Tingay from Curtin University also debunked claims that it was the Soviet-era spacecraft Kosmos 482, which recently made an uncontrolled re-entry.
Eyewitness accounts paint a vivid picture of the event. Chris Holgate, a truck driver near Gingin, described seeing a "ball of light flashed across the sky," while Caroline Burton, on her way to work in Scarborough, felt it "shot past what felt like right in front of me." In the Goldfields, truck driver Brian Robbins of G&B Haulage regarded it as one in a million sight of such a light show. Tracey Johnstone, witnessing the meteor from Mt Magnet, initially mistook it for the moon due to its size and brightness.
Mr. Robbins recounted his experience: "What caught my eye was what I thought or to believed to be lightning on the north side . . . it was quite cloudy and overcast this morning, it was still dark obviously and then you could just see the light, the flame flaming up and then extinguishing a couple times as it bolted through between the breaks of the clouds and across the horizon."
Despite Earth being bombarded with approximately 100 tonnes of material each year, witnessing such a bright meteor is rare, as most occur over the ocean or during nighttime hours. Now, experts are working to determine if the meteor landed in Western Australia and, if so, its precise location. The search is on!
The incident serves as a potent reminder of the dynamic and sometimes spectacular events unfolding above us. Did you witness this incredible event? Share your experience in the comments below!
