‘Unusual’ fireball that dazzled Victorians may be a meteor shower

When a fireball streaked through the sky on Sunday night, many Victorians thought a plane had crashed.

Now, a scientist has revealed that it was probably the lead up to a meteor shower that was about to happen.

The meteor was seen across Victoria at about 10.45pm, including at Anglesea, Frankston, Berwick, Cairnlea, Tullamarine and Dandenong, according to the Herald Sun.

The fireball even caused a sensation in the UK with police inundated with emergency phone calls.

The control tower in Melbourne’s Tullamarine Airport was also flooded with calls from locals fearing there had been a plane crash.

Astronomer David Reneke said it was unusual that the fireball was spotted across the globe, the Daily Mail reported.

He said usually at the end February fireballs were often seen but not in March.

“To be seen around the world it’s crazy. They are just slow moving bits of rock that catch on fire and burn. On occasions they even explode,” he said.