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About 2 years ago there was a meteor around this size or maybe a little smaller that passed over Auckland, NZ. I was sitting in my spa pool looking up at the s

About 2 years ago there was a meteor around this size or maybe a little smaller that passed over Auckland, NZ. I was sitting in my spa pool looking up at the stars around midnight and it passed over head. Took about 30 seconds and went from one side of the sky to the other an left a huge streak of fire. There were a couple of posts on social media like “Did anyone see that giant fireball?” but no video footage or news about the event otherwise. I always feel like nobody believes me when I tell them this.

Oliver_Daemen37 5y ago
I do believe you, same happen to me in the Netherlands
the-dude 5y ago
Had you been drinking?
eliaspro 5y ago
Had a similar experience around 8 years ago over southern Germany.
peterburkimsher 5y ago
I saw one a couple of months ago from Pakuranga! No sound, so it must've been far away, but at first I thought it must be a firework (bright white though, ending in a flash not an explosion). Could've been space junk not a meteor.
cs702 5y ago
I had an identical experience while on the coast of the Mid-Atlantic US several years ago: a giant fireball flew over me for around half a minute, give or take. I was indoors looking at the sea at night through a large window. There was no sound I could hear from inside the room. I was so mesmerized by the meteor that it didn't occur to me to take my eyes off from it, you know, to grab my phone and record the whole thing. It all looked like a special effect in a big-budget movie, but in real life. Now, I'm almost certain that mythological figures like Helios, who rides a "chariot of fire" in the sky, must be interpretations of similar meteor sightings in antiquity: https://www.google.com/search?q=helios+chariot+of+fire&tbm=isch https://www.google.com/search?q=helios+chariot+of+fire&tbm=i... -- a "chariot of fire" is pretty apt description, IMHO.
- Cpoll 5y ago
  "Like Helios" maybe, but I think in Helios's case the 'chariot of fire' is carrying the Sun across the day's sky. As I recall from the myth, at night he sails (on water) from West to East to prepare for the next day. The story doesn't fit well with a fast-moving night-time meteor(ite).
  - cs702 5y ago
    You're right. Nonetheless, I do feel "chariot of fire" is an apt description that captures the magic of what I saw :-)
- pfdietz 5y ago
  If the fireball took half a minute (or seemed to) it was probably reentering spacecraft debris, like an upper stage. These are slower than meteors and tend to be going nearly horizontally, which extends their lifetime.
  - cs702 5y ago
    That makes a lot of sense. Yes, it could have been spacecraft debris.
kaybe 5y ago
Did you hear anything?
spfzero 5y ago
I saw something similar decades ago. I believe you.
littlethrowaway 5y ago
I was in Christchurch New Zealand in September 2006 when we experienced a meteorite. http://meteorite-identification.com/mwnews/09122006.htm http://meteorite-identification.com/mwnews/09122006.htm . Extremely loud, sounded like a truck had fallen over!
muti 5y ago
Felt like I had to dig this up, I saw it too from the beach at Matauri bay. Google timeline was handy in pinning down the exact date! https://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/reports-flood-in-of-possible-meteor-as-bright-lights-in-the-sky-over-new-zealand/2TNSNEA554VPD7UFWUILWRYAQQ/ https://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/reports-flood-in-of-possible-m...
chi_features 5y ago
I was lucky enough to witness it too. I was driving down my street and I saw the world in front of me light up from a fireball in the sky accompanied by a loud roar. I had no reference as to what this was – a missile? A plane going down? Surely it was travelling too fast for those though. As it passed over to the East I waited with tensed shoulders for what was to come next, I assumed a large impact or explosion, but thankfully exhaled after a few seconds and simply silence was what came next. Remarkable experience!

Oliver_Daemen37 5y ago

I do believe you, same happen to me in the Netherlands

the-dude 5y ago

Had you been drinking?

eliaspro 5y ago

Had a similar experience around 8 years ago over southern Germany.

peterburkimsher 5y ago

I saw one a couple of months ago from Pakuranga! No sound, so it must've been far away, but at first I thought it must be a firework (bright white though, ending in a flash not an explosion). Could've been space junk not a meteor.

cs702 5y ago

I had an identical experience while on the coast of the Mid-Atlantic US several years ago: a giant fireball flew over me for around half a minute, give or take. I was indoors looking at the sea at night through a large window. There was no sound I could hear from inside the room. I was so mesmerized by the meteor that it didn't occur to me to take my eyes off from it, you know, to grab my phone and record the whole thing. It all looked like a special effect in a big-budget movie, but in real life. Now, I'm almost certain that mythological figures like Helios, who rides a "chariot of fire" in the sky, must be interpretations of similar meteor sightings in antiquity: https://www.google.com/search?q=helios+chariot+of+fire&tbm=isch https://www.google.com/search?q=helios+chariot+of+fire&tbm=i... -- a "chariot of fire" is pretty apt description, IMHO.

Cpoll 5y ago
"Like Helios" maybe, but I think in Helios's case the 'chariot of fire' is carrying the Sun across the day's sky. As I recall from the myth, at night he sails (on water) from West to East to prepare for the next day. The story doesn't fit well with a fast-moving night-time meteor(ite).
- cs702 5y ago
  You're right. Nonetheless, I do feel "chariot of fire" is an apt description that captures the magic of what I saw :-)
pfdietz 5y ago
If the fireball took half a minute (or seemed to) it was probably reentering spacecraft debris, like an upper stage. These are slower than meteors and tend to be going nearly horizontally, which extends their lifetime.
- cs702 5y ago
  That makes a lot of sense. Yes, it could have been spacecraft debris.

kaybe 5y ago

Did you hear anything?

spfzero 5y ago

I saw something similar decades ago. I believe you.

littlethrowaway 5y ago

I was in Christchurch New Zealand in September 2006 when we experienced a meteorite. http://meteorite-identification.com/mwnews/09122006.htm http://meteorite-identification.com/mwnews/09122006.htm . Extremely loud, sounded like a truck had fallen over!

muti 5y ago

Felt like I had to dig this up, I saw it too from the beach at Matauri bay. Google timeline was handy in pinning down the exact date! https://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/reports-flood-in-of-possible-meteor-as-bright-lights-in-the-sky-over-new-zealand/2TNSNEA554VPD7UFWUILWRYAQQ/ https://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/reports-flood-in-of-possible-m...

chi_features 5y ago

I was lucky enough to witness it too. I was driving down my street and I saw the world in front of me light up from a fireball in the sky accompanied by a loud roar. I had no reference as to what this was – a missile? A plane going down? Surely it was travelling too fast for those though. As it passed over to the East I waited with tensed shoulders for what was to come next, I assumed a large impact or explosion, but thankfully exhaled after a few seconds and simply silence was what came next. Remarkable experience!