Comet, earthquake or ‘aliens’: Mysterious cosmic display lights up Melbourne

Space junk that blazed across the night sky causing the ground to shake has startled locals of an Australian city who feared it was an earthquake.

Melbourne residents took to social media on Monday to share photos and videos of the mysterious image that soared over the city shortly after midnight.

The night-time display drew mixed reactions, with many in awe of the hurtling cosmic junk, while others speculated what it was.

“What an amazing sight over Richmond,” Stewart Mason wrote on X, formerly Twitter. “I don’t know if it was a meteor, comet or space junk.”

Tyson Whelan said: “Some spectacular vision of what appears to be a meteor sailing over Melbourne this evening.

“Or, a Matildas fan has let off perhaps the largest flare ever produced.”

Ricky Lancaster said: “Just landed back in the UK and the first thing I see is a meteor shower over Melbourne.”

In an expletive-laden video, one resident expressed his shock and awe at the sight.

“What the f**k is that? Is that a meteor shower?” the man says.

“Look at that. That’s not good, is it? That sh*t falling out of the sky.”

While some speculated the display could be “aliens” or a UFO, others initially believed the loud sounds heard were another earthquake.

Melbourne has been battered by successive earthquakes in recent years, including a 4.6-magnitude earthquake in June.

One user wrote on Reddit: “ OK, please tell me someone felt that. Felt like a bomb went off (big thud) and mid shake.”

Geoscience Australia confirmed reports to The New Daily of seismic activity from Melbourne about midnight on Monday.

“We identified seismic signals near northwest Melbourne but with insufficient data for publication to the EQ@GA website,” GA said.

It was not immediately clear whether the display was from a meteor or a comet.

A meteor is what astronomers describe as a flash of light in the atmosphere when debris burns up.

The debris itself is known as a meteoroid, with most so small they are vaporised in the atmosphere.

If it does make it to Earth it becomes a meteorite, while a comet is a rock covered in ice, methane and other compounds.