SKY IS FALLING

Meteor over Western Australia creates sonic boom

A SPECTACULAR meteor streaked across the skies of south-west Western Australia overnight, creating a sonic boom as it broke the sound barrier and startling many country residents.
The meteor vaporised near the Wheatbelt town of Dowerin, 157km north-east of Perth, about midnight (WST). It was seen by scores of people between Perth and Bunbury in the south to Geraldton in the north and Dowerin in the east.
Perth Observatory astronomer Peter Birch said the meteor was brighter than a full moon as it broke the sound barrier and woke Dowerin residents. It is rare for a meteor to create a sonic boom. One was heard over southern WA on May 1, 1995, and there had been one between then and last night, Mr Birch said.