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(meteorobs) NZ meteor lights up morning sky
New Zealand Herald
http://www.nzherald.co.nz/storydisplay.cfm?storyID=3507224&thesection=news&thesubsection=general
Spectacular rare green meteor lights up morning sky
13.06.2003
By AMANDA KYNE
A rare bright-green meteor flew across the sky early yesterday, surprising
early risers around the country.
Denise Buckton of Auckland's Blockhouse Bay said she gasped when she saw the
meteor from her living room window.
"It was lovely to look at. It had the same brightness as a flare."
Stardome Observatory spokesman Warren Hurley said the meteor was
particularly bright and larger than average, at 20-50cm in diameter.
It flew across at 7.07am, providing a rare daytime spectacle.
It was first visible at an altitude of about 80km in the north and at about
20km when last seen in the south.
"It's rare to see them of that size," Mr Hurley said.
It travelled from Whangarei to Edendale, near Invercargill, and was visible
for 10 seconds down the East Coast of New Zealand.
Meteors, which are left-over debris from the solar system, travel at 17km a
second.
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