June 11, 2004
MARTY SHARPE
Hawkes Bay Today

The explosion heard over Hawke's Bay early yesterday morning was probably caused by a fist-sized fragment of an asteroid entering the Earth's atmosphere, says Carter Observatory astronomer Richard Hall.

Mr Hall said reports that the light was an orange colour suggested it came from a meteor of metallic material. That meant it was probably a fragment of asteroid that had originated from somewhere between Jupiter and Mars, Mr Hall said.

There were "about a handful" of reports each year of meteors of a similar size. Smaller meteors would cause light, but not the sonic boom, he said.

"Every now and then Earth will plough into the path of material left behind by comets or asteroids. There have been a few reports of similar events in the Northern Hemisphere over the last week or so," Mr Hall said.

There was no telling when an asteroid might hit the Earth. Last year, astronomers in America and Europe observed an asteroid with a 10km diameter that narrowly missed Earth.

"If that had hit it would have had the force of a 100-tonne hydrogen bomb," Mr Hall said.

Michelle Baines and Michael Stonestreet were probably the closest people to the meteor.

Ms Baines, a flight nurse, and Mr Stonestreet, a pilot, were flying to Wairoa to pick up a patient at about 3.40 am yesterday when the sky lit up.

They were above the ocean about 15km south east of Wairoa when it occurred.

"I thought there must have been a helicopter above us with its light on. We looked up and there were two or three orange things moving through the sky. It lasted just a couple of seconds," Ms Baines said.

The object was "high above us, and between us and the coast" and was travelling in a northerly direction, Ms Baines said.

Ms Baines and Mr Stonestreet were wearing headsets and did not hear anything over the Piper Seneca's two engines.

"When we landed, the ambulance officer told us there was a huge noise. At the hospital they thought something must have hit the top of the building," Ms Baines said.

Jason Vercoe was driving from Taupo to Hastings and was about 4km north of the Mohaka river when the sky lit up.

"The whole place lit up. It was kind of like the light a city makes behind a ridge. It was incredible, really hard to describe. It almost made my highbeams useless at 3.30am in the morning. That's how bright it was."

Mr Vercoe, 30, said he leaned over his steering wheel and looked skyward, where he saw a "bright shooting star". His car clock said it was 3.39am.

There were no other vehicles near him when he saw the light, although he had seen several trucks on the road earlier.

"I half thought to stop and pull over to see if they saw it too," Mr Vercoe said.

He found out about the story of the meteor in yesterday's Hawke's Bay Today, after telling his girlfriend of his experience.

"If I hadn't leaned over my steering wheel and seen the star I would have thought there was something wrong with my eyes," Mr Vercoe said.

Poraiti man Robin McKee was having a "fitful night's sleep looking after a child who was sick" when he saw the light.

"It was like a lightbulb had popped in front of my eyes," Mr McKee said.

Trevor Cook, from Napier, heard a "boom sound" and felt his house creak.

"Two thoughts went through my mind. It might have been hooligans letting off a homemade bomb, or as the Carter Observatory suggested, a meteor entering the Earth's atmosphere, and creating a sonic boom," Mr Cook said.

Wairoa senior sergeant Chris Flood said there had been few calls about the event, but "no one's come in with a piece of rock yet".

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