Bright fireball streaks across the sky over Canberra, Australia

A bright fireball put on a fantastic display across the skies over Canberra, Australia, on Wednesday, September 2, 2020. A number of residents said the green object flew over the city around 08:45 UTC (18:45 LT).
According to ANU astrophysicist Dr. Brad Tucker, the meteor likely entered the atmosphere over the NSW Central Coast, then traveled over Sydney, west of Canberra, before exploding with a sonic boom near the Victoria-NSW border.
"This rock comes in when you're seeing that bright fireball that's the rock in the Earth's atmosphere essentially burning up."
"It gets super hot, starts to melt and at some point, it explodes in fragments."
Tucker added that the object would have been 1 m (3 feet) in size and did not pose a threat.
"There is likely somewhere from Jindabyne down to the border with a few space rocks in someone's backyard or paddock right now, but it wouldn't have created a crater."
He continued, "This thing shatters, and a few bits rain down."
Tucker noted that the fireball got its bright green and blue hue from iron and nickel burning up as the object penetrated the Earth's atmosphere.




Featured image credit: Ralph Arn/YouTube
If you value what we do here, create your ad-free account and support our journalism.
Your support makes a difference
Dear valued reader,
We hope that our website has been a valuable resource for you.
The reality is that it takes a lot of time, effort, and resources to maintain and grow this website. We rely on the support of readers like you to keep providing high-quality content.
If you have found our website to be helpful, please consider making a contribution to help us continue to bring you the information you need. Your support means the world to us and helps us to keep doing what we love.
Support us by choosing your support level – Silver, Gold or Platinum.
Other support options include Patreon pledges, one-off payments using PayPal and purchasing products from our webshop.
Thank you for your consideration. Your support is greatly appreciated.
Sincerely,
Teo Blašković
Commenting rules and guidelines
We value the thoughts and opinions of our readers and welcome healthy discussions on our website. In order to maintain a respectful and positive community, we ask that all commenters follow these rules:
We reserve the right to remove any comments that violate these rules. By commenting on our website, you agree to abide by these guidelines. Thank you for helping to create a positive and welcoming environment for all.