Daytime Meteor In New Zealand Sky? Here's What Scientists Say As Fireball Is Seen Over North Island

A fireball and an explosion of light were seen in the New Zealand sky on July 7, 2022. People living across the North Island also heard rumbling and crackling sounds. 

A fireball and an explosion of light were seen in the New Zealand sky on July 7, 2022. People living across the North Island also heard rumbling and crackling sounds. Scientists believe that the fireball was likely a rare daytime meteor. | Representative Photo

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A fireball and an explosion of light were seen in the New Zealand sky on July 7, 2022. People living across the North Island also heard rumbling and crackling sounds. 

Scientists believe that the fireball was likely a rare daytime meteor, according to an article published by The Guardian. 

MetService, short for Meteorological Service of New Zealand Limited, tweeted that an "an interesting signature" from the Wellington Radar was observed at 1:52 pm NZST (7:22 am IST). 

MetService posted an image depicting a cross-section of the atmosphere, "with what may be the smoke trail of the meteor that passed over the lower North Island. 

An interesting signature from the Wellington Radar, at 1:52pm.

This shows a cross-section of the atmosphere, with what may be the smoke trail of the meteor ☄ that passed over the lower North Island.

It's about the right place and time, and it's not meteorological. pic.twitter.com/2pY3WqzenT

— MetService (@MetService) July 7, 2022

The agency also said that the phenomenon is "not meteorological". 

According to the article, some witnesses described rumbles, bangs, a crackling sound in their ears, hair standing on end, rattling windows or a streak or explosion of light, followed by a smoke trail. 

What Scientists And Witnesses Say About The Fireball Seen Over North Island

Seismologists at GeoNet, New Zealand's geological hazard monitoring system, picked up a presumed sound wave from the mysterious object. Also, MetService scientists believe they picked up the smoke trail of the object on radar.

Curtis Powell, a plumber, was driving north of Shannon at 1:39 pm NZST on July 7 (7:09 am IST), when he captured the unusual phenomenon on his dashcam, the article stated.

Quoting him, the article said that he saw a blue line falling in the sky, followed by a massive bright light. He said he realised his dashcam was recording and downloaded the video, and called it a "once-in-a-lifetime spectacle".

According to the article, Dr Duncan Steel, a Wellington-based scientist who has worked for NASA, said he has seen only one daytime meteor in his lifetime. He explained that daytime meteors are due to macrometeoroids in the atmosphere coming in very quickly, typically 30 kilometres per second. 

Steel said that to be seen during the daytime, the meteor would need to be quite large, something the size of a rugby ball or bigger. He explained that that is what makes them "rare".

Steel also said that the crackling heard as the object moved through the sky was likely an "electrophonic sound". 

Allan Gilmore of Canterbury University's Mt John Observatory said that people with frizzy hair often hear that sound, while the people who do not have frizzy hair do not hear it. 

According to the article, Dr Ian Griffin, the director of the Otago Museum, urged members of the public to keep any photos or videos so that they can be used to triangulate the position of the object, and where it landed, if it did land. 

He added that it may be quite "scientifically important" to retrieve the object.