Add The New York Post on Google Kiwis were seeing green.
A massive green fireball lit up the night sky over New Zealand Sunday, dazzling viewers before breaking apart and fading.
Videos caught the cosmic display as a meteor exploded through the atmosphere above New Zealand’s North Island just before 8 p.m., with countless people catching sight of the incredible celestial display across at least seven towns, the New Zealand Herald reported.
“Heads up! A very bright green fireball was seen passing West to East over the upper North Island,” wrote Fireballs Aotearoa, a local amateur meteorite-tracking and hunting group, on social media.
The fireball burned over New Zealand’s North Island Sunday night, and broke apart over the ocean. Tauranga Astronomical Society The fireball likely broke apart and scattered most of its pieces into the ocean, the group speculated while urging people across the region to check their security cameras for footage.
And those cameras rewarded — clips from across New Zealand showed the fireball emerging suddenly and steadily from the black with a long tail of white trailing behind.
Passing through clouds the meteor began to burn iridescent green and flare against the night sky, before guttering out after one final flash.
Witnesses described a “big white light” and “bright green with white tail,” while others said it was “clear as day” and “so long and bright,” the Herald reported.
Others described the meteor breaking into about three pieces before fading, with the spectacle lasting about 15 seconds.
Green fireballs are typically caused by meteors comprised of nickel burning apart while passing through Earth’s atmosphere, according to the American Meteor Society.
