Meteor spotted by West Rand residents

'It’s the biggest and clearest meteorite I have ever seen, it was amazing,' said one resident.

Meteor spotted in Roodepoort. Photo for illustrative purposes.

A massive meteorite was spotted entering the earth’s atmosphere at about 6am today in Roodepoort, Roodepoort Record reports.

Resident Matthew Hope recorded the incident while he was driving on Constantia Drive in Constantia Kloof. Matthew said it was the biggest meteorite he had ever seen.

“It happened this morning when I turned from Golf Club Terrace into Constantia Drive, on the hill next to the Hyperama. It’s the biggest and clearest meteorite I have ever seen, it was amazing.”

A meteorite is a solid piece of debris from an object, such as a comet, asteroid, or meteoroid, that originates in outer space and survives its passage through the Earth’s atmosphere and impacts with the Earth’s surface or that of another planet.

When the object enters the atmosphere, various factors like friction, pressure, and chemical interactions with atmospheric gases cause it to heat up and radiate energy. It then becomes a meteor and forms a fireball, also known as a shooting or falling star.