An incredible arc of white light was seen across the sky in eastern Victoria on Sunday afternoon, stunning onlookers. The meteor event occurred just after 4:30 PM, captivating those who happened to glance upward at the right moment. One of them was Sarah Devine, who observed the spectacular phenomenon while relaxing on a clear fall day with her husband.
Dr. Rachel Kirby, an astrophysicist at Monash University, has called the event “highly unusual.” Even more damningly, she pointed out, the speed of the light was far too fast to be space debris. This is important because that means the object must have been pretty big. FHWAs Dr. Alice Kirby haltingly explained how rare these events are during daylight. He explained that this specific meteor was likely larger than average.
Eyewitness Accounts
Sarah Devine tweeted about the experience, calling the meteor “the size of a car and looked like it was on fire.” The two stood breathless before the majestic flight and fearsome crash of the meteor, running outside to look up at the sky in awe.
“We were running around the house looking at the sky, thinking, what on earth was that? Are we under attack?” – Sarah Devine
Witness Megan Roberts saw the same meteor as she drove along the Princess Highway near Stratford, just north of Sale. She commented on its speed in comparison to a shooting star too, stating, “It was slower than a shooting star. This was not the first time Roberts had experienced a meteoric shower. To her surprise, the path of this one looked almost identical to her previous observation.
“The way it went across the sky was really similar,” – Megan Roberts
Investigating the Phenomenon
Dr. Kirby and her team of researchers are still working to figure out which way the meteor is headed. She continued to stress that the phenomenon was not a run-of-the-mill occurrence, repeating that it was a special case.
The amazing visual spectacle dazzled scientists and non-scientists alike. A resulting sonic boom sounded through the region roughly a minute after meteor entry. This imbued a beautiful auditory experience to an already amazing event, mesmerizing even those who saw it.
According to Dr. Kirby, events like this always attract excitement from members of the scientific community and casual astronomers. The latest event follows the appearance of a green light in the sky from a few months ago. This pattern indicates that meteoric events are still very much active in Victoria today.
