Geosciences Australia confirms 'rumor' not caused by an earthquake after bystander near Gladstone report tail-like-burst fireball in the sky, bright flash, and loud bangs
The 'bright light' - shown in the above CCTV footage captured on Boyne Island, 25km south of Gladstone, 8.30pm - was reportedly seen as far south of Hervey Bay and as far north of Yeppoon.
The video was shared by Ellie Thompson on in the Facebook page, the Higgins Storm Chasing, and Queensland-based enthusiasts that share weather forecasts, photos, and alerts.
Early reports linked a magnitude-3.5 earthquake near coast of Airlie Beach to the meteor, however, the earthquake shock two hours later and it was unlikely related, Seismology said
Emerald resident Jim told the ABC he saw a "bright ball-type object and then all of a sudden comes with it is a big orange tail." Others reported as the also notice that their houses and cars shaking.
Jonathan McDowell, a Harvard astrophysicist , told the Gladstone Observer the bright light, boom, and shaking was most likely produced by a meteor. "It's not a comet, or Queensland wouldn't exist anymore (and we'd have seen it coming for days)," he pointed out.
"I Was sitting at the beach in Boyne Island and saw it all unfold, looked like a big as hell shooting star and lit up the beach than about a minute later a big bang and a shockwave came over the water and shook my car little bit was a pretty awesome experience," Jacques Reimers added.
There have been no reports of damage caused by the meteor last night, and a meteorite has yet to be located. Police said they had received various phone calls from residents, but no damage has been expressed. Dozens of people share social media to about their experiences, some describing a "bright flash", loud "bangs" and their houses "shaking".
