A meteor which lit up the sky in the lower North Island on Thursday afternoon was "extremely energetic", an expert says.
Space scientist Dr Duncan Steel told Breakfast data from US early warning sensors shows the meteor was 1.8 kilotons of TNT - one sixth or one seventh of the energy of the Hiroshima bomb.
"It was a huge amount of energy, but released at about 35km altitude. It shook a few people up, shook a few windows, but didn't actually cause any damage."
Dashcam and security footage from across the lower North Island captured the fireball streak across the sky. (Source: Supplied)
Dashcam footage showed the meteor appearing as a flash of light with a bit of a streak around 2pm. It generated a shockwave powerful enough to be picked up by earthquake seismometers as it burned its way through the atmosphere.
Six different sensors in the lower North Island picked it up.
Steel said if people did happen to see it, it was probably a "once-in-a-lifetime event". He said he's personally only ever seen one daytime meteor.
Asked if Kiwis should be worried about earth-threatening comets, asteroids and meteoroids, Steel said the movies - think Armageddon or Deep Impact - are "very melodramatic".
Hyslop Plumbing's Curtis Powell was driving north of Shannon at 1.40pm on Wednesday when his dashcam camera captured the fireball in the sky. (Source: Supplied)
He did remark Thursday's meteor was maybe a shot across the bow to remind people Earth isn't isolated from the rest of the universe.
"I think it's just best to take a look and wonder 'wow, isn't the universe fantastic'."
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