Meteor lights up Empangeni farm

It may not have been like the meteor that struck Russia in 2013, leaving 1 000 injured in its wake, but an Empangeni couple felt lucky to witness a bright meteor while patrolling on Eindhoek Suiker Farm on Saturday.

Rudi Cracknell (40) and his girlfriend Amber McGregor (28) saw the meteor light up the night sky at 7.55pm.

“One minute we were walking quietly in the dark and the next minute the light surrounded us,” said Rudi.

“It was pitch black and then out of nowhere, the brightest light I’ve ever seen in my life appeared. The whole section lit up like daytime,” said Amber.

“It was just a few seconds. We were very lucky,” she said.

Dr Allen Smith, a Durban-based geoscientist, confirmed by their description that the couple witnessed a meteor.

“At the moment we have a meteor shower in KZN skies. If you go out on a clear night, you should be able to see more than you expect,” said Dr Smith.

“The source of the meteors are from a comet broken up and the comet’s name is Encke.”

Read the full story and more residents’ experiences in the ZO Weekender edition.

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