Meteor fireball lights up sky above Perth

Residents captured footage of a fireball lighting up the sky above Perth, Australia as it fell towards earth on Tuesday (Aug 29).

Screengrab of a video showing the fireball above the sky. (Image: Reuters via Bagus Sugiono)

Bejay Walker, a local resident whose CCTV captured the phenomenon, said the burning object appeared in the sky at around 7.40pm local time.

Bagus Sugiono was lucky enough to catch a glimpse of fireball while driving in Jandakot, a southern suburb of Perth.

The fireball is believed to be a meteor entering the atmosphere, reported ABC News.

Many other Perth residents took to social media after the occurrence to voice their amazement and see if others had seen the same unusual sight.

The Perth Observatory received dozens of videos from people who caught the fireball streaking across the sky from their CCTV cameras and dash cams.

The Department of Fire and Emergency Services was also inundated with calls from eyewitnesses saying they had seen the fireball, reported ABC News.

Meanwhile, scientists from Curtin University are trying to investigate whether the meteor hit the ground, as well as its location.

According to the director of the Desert Fireball Network, Professor Phil Bland, there was a fair chance that the object made it to earth, reported ABC News.

"It also looks like we've seen it on multiple cameras which means that we'll be able to triangulate exactly how it came in through the atmosphere, what its position was, what its speed was, what its size was (and) work out where it came from in the solar system, and if any of it landed," he said./.

VNF/Reuters