A pair of large suspected meteors has captured the attention of New Zealanders after flashing across the country’s skies in a series of dramatic events. Following a fireball that streaked over the South Island on Sunday evening, a second, more prominent event occurred over the North Island shortly after 10:20pm on Tuesday. The North Island sighting was accompanied by a significant flash and a loud sonic boom, leaving many witnesses stunned.
Dozens of people shared their experiences on social media, with one witness describing the object as a massive orange ball with a purple tail. Another observer noted seeing black soot trailing from the object, while others reported a loud, low rumble that caused birds to scatter and even startled livestock. One witness in Ruby Bay compared the sound to someone striking a wheelie bin with a stone. Footage captured on dashcams, security cameras and specialist meteor cameras showed North Island’s skies lighting up with a large flash, with dozens of people taking to social media to describe the “huge boom” that accompanied it. Some onlookers admitted their initial shock, with one commentator writing, “Absolutely insane. I thought it was a plane on fire.”
Steve Wyn-Harris, the director of Fireballs Aotearoa—a group of geologists, astronomers, and citizen scientists dedicated to tracking such events—was in his spa in Hawke’s Bay when he witnessed the flash. Initially suspecting lightning, he realized the magnitude of the event as his phone began receiving numerous reports. Wyn-Harris highlighted the importance of the sonic boom, noting that it indicates the meteor reached a relatively low altitude.
Fireballs Aotearoa is now calling on residents in the lower North Island to be vigilant for potential meteorites, which would appear as black stones that do not naturally belong in the local environment. While only 10 meteorites have been officially confirmed in New Zealand over the last 150 years, experts believe many more fall undetected due to the country’s rugged terrain and sparse population.
The chances of recovery are improving, however. Fireballs Aotearoa has deployed 200 cameras across the nation, and the growing prevalence of dashcams and security cameras has significantly bolstered tracking capabilities. Wyn-Harris noted that New Zealand now possesses some of the best monitoring coverage in the world, which is why such celestial phenomena are being documented with increasing frequency.
