Large Meteor causes panic in New Zealand
Pastor Dale Morgan
*Large Meteor causes panic in New Zealand*
From correspondents in Wellington
September 12, 2006 06:11pm
Article from: Agence France-Presse
A LARGE METEOR streaked across a large swathe of New Zealand's South
Island today, creating a sonic boom which sent people running from their
workplaces and homes, witnesses said.
The loud boom was heard over northern and central parts of the South
Island shaking buildings and rattling windows, reports said.
Kevin Graham was working in his garage workshop southwest of the city of
Christchurch, when he heard the boom.
He spoke to his wife in Christchurch, who had run outside because she
thought the building she was in was going to collapse.
“I ran outside because I thought my place was going to collapse as
well,” he said.
Matthew Miller, who was working outdoors at Ashburton, south of
Christchurch, said he saw a huge fireball streak across the sky,
although he did not hear the sonic boom reported by witnesses in areas
further north.
“There was this really bright comet shooting across the sky,” Mr Miller
told state radio.
“I saw it for about a second, it was travelling so fast and covered so
much ground.”
The resident superintendent of Canterbury University's Mount John
Observatory, Alan Gilmour, said meteors were reported every few years.
“All the reports suggest it was a pretty standard meteor but large and
low,” he told state radio, adding it most likely broke up in the
atmosphere.