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Green Fireball Streaks Across Australian Night Sky, Confirmed as High-Speed Meteor

The vivid phenomenon, unrelated to the Lyrids meteor shower, exploded at high altitude, with no ground impact expected.

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Overview

  • A bright green fireball lit up the skies of southeast Queensland and northern New South Wales on April 21, 2025, startling witnesses with sonic booms and flashes.
  • Astrophysicists confirmed the event was caused by a high-speed meteor fragment traveling at 40–60 kilometers per second, likely on an elongated orbit around the sun.
  • The meteor exploded at an estimated altitude of 30–40 kilometers, with delayed sonic booms reported across a wide area, from Brisbane to Sydney.
  • Experts ruled out any connection to the Lyrids meteor shower, noting the meteor's south-to-north trajectory and the shower's visibility limitations in Australia at the time.
  • Researchers are actively collecting eyewitness accounts, dashcam footage, and sensor data to trace the meteor's trajectory and determine its origin.