Meteor lights up Melbourne sky

Meteor lights up Melbourne sky
By Jan Deane

Posted Wed Oct 3, 2007 8:19am AEST

Map: Melbourne 3000
The Astronomical Society of Victoria says a meteor was the source of an array of coloured lights seen in skies across the state last night.

The vice president, Perry Vlahos says the meteor was first spotted in north eastern Victoria just before 10:00pm, and it was also seen in some areas of South Australia.

Callers to the ABC reported seeing the lights in several locations, including Leongatha in Gippsland and in the Melbourne suburb of Doncaster.

He says while meteors often enter the Earth's atmosphere, this one put on a brilliant display.

"In some reports it appears to have lit up the ground and cast strong shadows so that's a fairly impressive sight," he said.

"Some other reports have indicated that it may have had a green tinge to its colour which betrays the presence of some copper in its makeup," Mr Vlahos said.

Tags: science-and-technology, astronomy, australia, vic, leongatha-3953, melbourne-3000