1 week Ago By Louise Thrower
Sitting outside in the wee hours with camera poised, Rebecca Konemann often wondered whether something spectacular would happen in the night sky. Login or signup to continue reading But the "mind-blowing" moment came at 2.46am on April 5, just 30 minutes after she'd stepped inside.
A meteor shot across the sky, lighting it up before landing somewhere to the south of her home in Crookwell, NSW. Rebecca didn't see it herself but later checked her outdoor camera footage, following an alert on a chat group Sure enough, it captured the meteor shooting through the sky with increasing brightness as it descended. "I've never seen anything like it," Rebecca said.
"We saw one a few years ago and it was nowhere near as bright. It's pretty rare for that to happen." Meteor sightings were also reported around Lower Boro, near Tarago, Canberra, Bathurst and most spectacularly, above Sydney Harbour at the same time.
The latter created shades of blue, green, gold and amber. In Canberra, people reported hearing a rumble. Astrophysicist Brad Tucker told Ten News that it was likely a broken bit of asteroid, "fragmented off" that travelled through space and hit Earth.
However, he believed the Pacific Ocean was the "most likely hit zone." Other astrophysicists described it as brighter than usual. Rebecca was simply pleased that her doorbell camera was pointing in the right direction.
The footage made it onto national news reports. Her fascination with the night sky started about 15 years ago. "I saw a picture of the northern lights, Aurora Borealis, in a friend's cookbook and I was absolutely fascinated," Rebecca said.
She's travelled to The Yukon and Tromso in Norway chasing the lights. When Rebecca and her husband moved to Crookwell from Sydney she grabbed her camera every time an Aurora alert appeared on chat groups. "I'd just go outside, point the camera and wait to see what happened.
Sure enough, I started to see the southern lights here. It was very bizarre," Rebecca said. "This last year has been absolutely crazy for that Aurora Australis.
In October 2024, there was a massive event where you could see it with the naked eye." A haze typically appeared first, followed by white pillars ascending in the sky. Using her iPhone 16 pro max, Rebecca has captured spectacular images of the Aurora Australis.
The irony of snapping them in her own backyard isn't lost on her. She describes it as a happy diversion from her day job working in payroll for the state government. "It's just a hobby and a fascination," Rebecca said.
"The meteor is a highlight and to capture it so vividly on camera is amazing." If you have a story to tell, drop me a line at louise.thrower@austcommunitymedia.
com.au or call 0418 229 678. If you have a story to tell, drop me a line at louise.
[email protected] or call 0418 229 678.
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