A mysterious object streaking through the sky near Kaka Point, South Otago, yesterday evening has left local woman Andrina Kitto wondering what it could have been.
Mrs Kitto said she was outside in the courtyard of her home at 5pm when she saw the "quite big" object, which she described as having a white head and a "long white tail" behind it.
She watched it through binoculars for about 10 minutes as it fell at a 45-degree trajectory to the Earth, travelling in a westward direction from Kaka Point.
"It was travelling quite fast at the start, but got quite a bit slower as it headed to the horizon."
The tail was mainly white, but darker in patches, seemed to split into two parallel lines further from the object itself, and that material appeared to "waft" in the air currents, Mrs Kitto saidWhen she first spotted the object, it was south of Balclutha, and appeared to be heading towards Clinton.
Dunedin Astronomical Society president Peter Jaquiery said while meteors could do "all sorts of things" as they fell to Earth, they were gone in seconds.
Space junk also stayed visible for a much shorter period than 10 minutes.
Did you see this object?
Email: david.loughrey@odt.co.nz
