The meteorite was in fact a decaying rocket body that had had been up there for many years from an old satellite launch- so is what was commonly referred to as space junk. It is therefore unrelated to any recent meteor showers.

Please see my comments on the other article on this subject.

Thanks to all those who submitted reports, they will be of interest to the satellite observers’ community.

By the way a meteor is not a meteorite till it hits the ground- till then it is a meteor.

An extremely bright meteor observed travelling in an easterly direction over the Taieri Plains heading towards Dunedin at 10.05pm on Sunday night. Incredibly bright with a long tail. It was so bright that it could still be observed as it travelled behind low clouds. Initially thought it was an Air NZ jet with landing lights on travelling through foggy clouds. Soon became apparent as it then ventured into clear sky.

Yep, we saw it lastnight.

We were walking home around 10pm lastnight when my partner saw it. I didnt beleave it myself untill I had looked at it for a few seconds. It was very big & very low in the sky & moving rather slow across the sky with a very long tail & moving almost the same speed as a saterlite. It was heading almost strait from North West to South East over towards the port hills out to sea. It was the best & biggest one I have ever seen, I dont think I’ll see one that big ever again & hope I never see one bigger than that anyway & I have seen a few smaller ones before when fishing but never moving as slow as the one lastnight. Papaniu, Christchurch

I was traveling not far out from Christchurch when we spotted what looked to be a vapor trail from a plane catching the last of the sunlight. However as it moved further across the sky a couple of small pieces broke away and that’s when we realised we were seeing a meteor.

My partner and I were out for a walk (in ChCh) @ 10.00 last night and saw the meteor. Unforgettable sight, so glad now that I had an overdue DVD to return (the reason for the walk).

I was taking the dog out at around 10pm and saw it also over the skies of Lyttelton. It came in from Chch city way and kept going towards the South West direction and lasted for a minute our so. It was pretty spectacular and by far the best I have ever seen. (even my dog sat and watched it!)
I was about to go in and get the camera but figured it would be gone by the time I got organised.

Could be from any one of at least 4 minor separate meteor showers that all peak roughly about now – Delta-Cancrids being the strongest but slightly to the north, Alpha-Hydrids, or much further south, Alpha-Crucids and Eta-Carinids.

Btw, a ‘meteor’ is the small body of space matter which you see becoming incandescent as a result of friction when it enters the earth’s atmosphere. A ‘meteorite’ is a meteor that survives its passage through the earth’s atmosphere and is found on the ground. And a ‘shooting-star’ is just another name for a meteor.

Saw a bright ball of fire followed by a long white tail, also thought it was a plane crashing! It stayed in the sky for ages at about 10pm Sunday 18th January. Seen from South Brighton (Christchurch)

Hi there.

Last night, while in works car park, I got to watch the most incredible meteor I have ever seen burn it’s way across the sky. It was an exceptional display. I only wish I had my camera with me.

The gas trail was visible for a long while afterwards too.

It’s something I will never forget… Was great 🙂