RESIDENTS on the Mid North Coast have reported the sighting of something foreign in the sky after a loud explosion and light trail was seen in the early hours of Sunday morning.
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Well known local astronomer Dave Reneke believes it wasn't a meteor, but in fact a fireball.
A fireball is an unusual type of meteor, a rogue that has three distinct characteristics.
"They move slowly than others, are associated with bright and different coloured tails and in some cases they can be associated with a noise like an explosion," Mr Reneke said.
"When it heats up, the rock starts to melt, the pressure builds up and they blow themselves apart. That is the sound people have heard and the bright lights that people could see."
He received many reports of the incident from Sunday morning and his educated guess is that it was more-than-likely a fireball.
"I've had a lot of phone calls and e-mails from people. It was a real event and was heard over a wide area, right a long the north coast," he said.
"Anyone who saw it would never forget the experience. The reports I've received all point to it being a rogue fireball."
Mr Reneke said we are in a meteor shower period at the moment with patient night owls perhaps lucky enough to spot meteors with the naked eye from 1am until 4am each morning.
"You just don't know and can't predict if we will see another fireball or a meteor," he said.
"The meteor shower period starts this week and is a yearly meteor shower called the Orion Orionids and the best times to see to view it are somewhere between 1am and 4am in the morning."
