Bright green meteor and Aurora Australis seen over Sydney skies, Australia

A bright green meteor flashed over Sydney on June 1, 2025, followed by vibrant Aurora Australis displays across Australia.

A bright green meteor lit up the sky above Sydney around 18:00 local time on Sunday, June 1, creating a striking display.

The meteor was estimated to be tennis to basketball-sized, and showed a vivid blue-green hue due to its iron and nickel content. It fragmented into smaller pieces mid-flight, captivating onlookers across the region.

Dr. Brad Tucker from the Australian National University confirmed the meteor was not space debris based on its color and trajectory.

At the same time, vivid Aurora Australis displays painted the skies over southern Australia with pink, green, and occasional red and yellow hues. The aurora was triggered by a rare G4 – Severe geomagnetic storm produced by coronal mass ejection (CME) from an M8.1 solar flare and solar wind from a coronal hole. Spectacular sightings were reported in Tasmania, Victoria, South Australia, and as far north as Tamworth and Young.

The aurora continued into June 2, with clear views around 19:30 LT in regional South Australia. However, cloud cover obscured visibility in urban areas like Sydney.

The aurora’s reach into northern New South Wales surprised astronomers, as displays of this kind are rarely visible so far from the pole. Auroras are typically restricted to higher southern latitudes, but the intensity of the recent G4 geomagnetic storm expanded the auroral oval unusually far north.

This allowed observers in regions such as Tamworth and Young to witness the phenomenon, an occurrence described by astronomers as highly uncommon for New South Wales.

Feature image credit: Tom McCallister (stillshot from the video)