Bright fireball explodes over North Island, producing massive sonic boom, New Zealand

A bright fireball exploded over the Manawatū region in New Zealand’s North Island around 18:50 UTC on June 27, 2023 (06:50 NZST, June 28), producing a massive sonic boom.

Footage of the event shows two huge blasts in the sky, turning the cloudy morning sky into bright orange.

The ground shook soon after the flashes, rattling the homes of many people near Feilding, Manawatū District.

Some of the residents described the sound as an explosion of a gas tanker or a car exploding after hitting a house.

Fireballs Aotearora said they received reports of a large object shooting over the region and asked all residents who saw it or captured it on camera to report it to them. “We’re assessing our data to determine if this was a meteor and whether it may have dropped some material in the region.”

“It’s hard to say for sure as the clouds are obscuring our view – we can’t see that clear movement across the sky – but the combination of a flash of light and a loud bang does suggest it could be a meteor breaking up in the atmosphere,” Stardome astronomer Rob Davison said.

References:

¹ Watch: Massive explosion in the sky shakes Feilding homes – 1news – June 28, 2023

² Exploding fireball shakes homes, lights up sky in Feilding – Newshub. – June 28, 2023

Featured image credit: Seni Iasona (stillshot)