Several people confirmed the sighting of what could only be described as a “burning ball of flames”, zipping through the cosmos at around 19:00.

Local astronomer, Ernst Marais, told www.mobserver.co.za, that last night’s observation was likely a meteorite.

He further went on to explain that comets, when seen from earth, move so slowly that they appear stationary to the eye.

One resident, Ms. Lunette Breedt, informed www.mobserver.co.za that the observation could have possibly been a part of the Perseid meteor shower.

Mr. Marais explained that the Perseids is more commonly, only seen from the northern hemisphere.

“Unfortunately, I did not see last night’s display, but what was explained could either have been a meteorite or space junk. We have a lot of satellites travelling through our cosmos and sometimes these satellites are left up in space once they have completed their orbit. As they age, they burn out and can be seen from earth.”