Curtin University’s Fireballs in the Sky have confirmed that last nights meteor looks to have landed in Northam.
The group of scientists who work as a branch of the Desert Fireball Network to find meteorites picked up images of the meteorite at the observatory in Northam.
Renae Sayers coordinator of Fireballs in the Sky said their team are looking at an area of 1000 square metres in an attempt to locate the meteor.
“We’ve got a beautiful image from our Northam camera but we haven’t got a clear triangulation of where it went yet because it was cloudy last night,” she said.
“It’s looking anywhere around the Northam area but we’re had reports from York and also the eastern Perth region.
“That’s a big space.”
She said there had been reports of a sonic boom which indicates the meteor was low in the atmosphere and close to the area.
Ms Sayers said with their camera network they will be able to locate the rock and then calculate its orbit before it came into the Earth’s atmosphere.
The team are currently working through their data and are looking at their citizen reports that have received from the public through the Fireballs in the Sky app.
They are working alongside the Bureau of Meteorology to trace any detection of fireballs on their system.
York residents have reported what they say is a second ‘bang’ three hours after the meteor went past.
Ms Sayers said she was not aware of this but said it was possible to have subsequent sightings.
“We’ve only got data from 7.40pm but our team will double check,” she said.
“Usually our reports from the community come in in dribs and drabs so it tends to take time for reports to come in.”
Joanna Bryant from Hope Farm Guesthouse in York said she heard what she believes is parts of the meteor hitting the ground.
“We had a chimney sweep out yesterday, so when we heard the ginormous crash in our roof we thought our chimney stack had collapsed,” Ms Bryant said.
“It was very loud and we heard something hit the ground, more of a crash than a boom as lots of others have reported.”
She said she hopes the town will see space junk hunters visit over the weekend which coincides with the York Agricultural Show.
If you thought you could score yourself some space memorabilia you may have to think again.
Under law any meteorites found in Western Australia belong to the state and ownership is given to the Western Australian Museum.
The spectacle was seen and felt across the Avon Valley just after 7.30pm yesterday with residents reporting their houses shaking.
Steven Scott from the town of Northam captured the meteor on CCTV.
Did you see or hear anything?
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