The normally serene night sky was reportedly illuminated by a burst of light
Stargazers (and listeners) were baffled by events in central Queensland last night.
Multiple reports of a flash in the sky, a large bang and shaking ground have kicked off speculation of a meteorite strike.
According to the Brisbane Times, police received multiple calls from residents in the Gladstone area reporting their houses shaking in what was initially believed to be an earthquake.
But Geoscience Australia has since officially ruled out an earthquake.
There were reports as far south as the Sunshine Coast, with one Nambour man saying he heard a loud noise and a flash of light just before 8.30pm.
Lanky Jones said the light was very bright and it appeared as though an object was burning up in the sky.
“It sounded a lot like a sonic boom, which would make sense if something was travelling too fast into the atmosphere,” he said.
“I don’t know what it was, whether a meteorite or piece of space junk. I didn’t feel the tremor but the sound suggests something came down to Earth.
“It’s definitely not something you see every day.”
Private astronomer Owen Bennedict from Wappa Falls Observatory said he’d received reports from around a 100-kilometre radius, indicating “whatever it was, it was big”.
He said reports indicated the space rock would either have hit earth or exploded in the sky above the planet, causing shockwaves.
He reckoned the other possibility was that the space rock had exploded in the sky above the Earth in what’s known as an air burst, sending shockwaves over a wide area.
Were you in the Gladstone area last night? Did you see the light or feel the tremors? Comment below.
Live in New Auckkand, Gladstone. Heard a rumble noise then a bang, and felt the shockwave, not something you see or feel everyday.
Yeppoon
Nothing..