New amateur video of the meteorite that exploded over Russia's Ural mountains emerges as scientists discuss possibility of global asteroid-warning system. Jessica Gray reports.

A bright "sparkly" silver object seen falling from the sky in Otago on Sunday afternoon was probably a rarely seen daylight meteor.

The Otago Daily Times received reports from about a dozen people in at least six locations about the object seen between 2.45pm and 3pm on Sunday.

Mark Davis of Wanaka saw an "extremely bright" silver light dropping to Earth as he was driving from Omarama towards the Lindis Pass at 2.45pm on Sunday.

He glimpsed it only briefly and described it as "sparkly".

Three people, including Wanaka farmer John Leith and Chris Scott of Christchurch saw it from west Wanaka.

Mr Leith said it was a "silver flash" coming out of the sky.

"It looked almost like three rockets joined together with their tails pointing towards the Earth."

It was travelling so fast he did not even have time to say to others in the group: "Hey, have a look at this."

A Loscoe woman has sparked a flurry of UFO speculation from internet users across the country - after witnessing strange flashes in the sky.

Dawn Ratcliffe, 30, of Milward Road, posted on a popular UFO spotting website when she saw the strange phenomena out of her window at around 10pm on Saturday, January, 26.

She was hoping other users of ufo-uk.co.uk might be able to offer an explanation as to what it was - and since then a host of people - from as far north as Lancashire - have come forward to confirm they too saw the spectacle - though its cause remains a mystery.

Dawn originally wrote: "I was sat on the floor in the living room talking to my boyfriend, facing the window, when outside I saw a massive white flash that lit up the whole sky. It only lasted a split second. It was like it had come from a ball of light, not like lightning. It definitely wasn't a firework and we went straight outside to see If there was anything out there or an aeroplane or something, but the sky was clear. It was such an intense bright white flash."

Site users immediately responded to Dawn's post.

A mysterious rock at a quarry in central Bosnia has seen a spike in visitors in the wake of the meteor explosion over Russia last week.


A few years back, workers in a stone quarry in Kostajnica dug out a massive, rusty, egg-shaped rock that locals believe is a meteorite.

Quarry owner Dimitrije Tatic said the tale of the falling rock had been passed down from generation to generation in this small Bosnian town.

"They believed that it fell off the moon," he said.

"It was so hot that it was impossible to approach and when it fell all the houses in the vicinity collapsed too," he added.

According to Andris Bieznis, Latvian Centre of meteorites recorded on Wednesday at midnight a meteor fall in the Gulf of Riga in Latvia. According to Andris Bieznis in an interview with local radio station "Baltcom", a witnesses saw the fall of the meteor, which was accompanied by an unusual bright of blue light and noise. The meteor was observed in several regions of Latvia: Vidzeme, in the central part of Latvia and in Zemgale in southern Latvia. It was also observed in Finland on a surveillance camera of the University Observatory.

Los Angeles -- If you saw a flash of light in the sky Thursday night, you were hardly alone.

Dozens of Eyewitness News viewers reported seeing a blazing-bright meteor fly through the sky around 10:30 p.m.

Viewer Simon Crask sent us a photo he snapped with a low-light camera in Anaheim. The meteor could be seen on the left.

Sightings were reported all around the Southland, including in Los Angeles, Alhambra, Burbank, Malibu, Pasadena, Culver City, Santa Clarita, Garden Grove, Costa Mesa and Ventura.

Many people took to Twitter to describe what they saw. Viewer Trina Megumi said she was driving on the 60 Freeway in Pomona when she saw a bright blue light that appeared to be coming down from the sky.

Schoolchildren pictured practicing their karate moves on each other - Seconds later sonic boom from meteor smashes windows of hall - Children cover their ears with hands and run away in terror

It was a terrifying moment which left nearly 1,500 people injured and caused more than £20 million worth of damage.

But few images have been able to capture just how much every day life was turned upside down following the enormous Russian meteor than this video.

These pictures show young Russian schoolchildren practicing their karate moves on each other in a sports hall, completely unaware that their day was about to be completely transformed.

Initial sighting reports

21 February 2013 - Brittney Mcconnell, Pleasanton, CA 22:30 PST

Between 5-10 seconds duration. Lime green color with orange trail. Sun white hot in brightness but also lime green. No fragmentation observed, just the flaming trail behind it. It wasn't heading straight down but angled at about 30 degrees. I estimate that it landed in the Pleasanton/Sunol area.

21 February 2013 - Mark S. Dobkin, Costa Mesa, CA USA, Approx. 22:30 PST

2-3 seconds duration - I was facing West. East-West direction. Bright white ball of fire, then broke up. I was stationary in my car, so did not hear any sound. As bright as moon, but not as large. Considerably larger than Venus. Fragmentation observed. Fairly large. One of the largest I have seen.

21 February 2013 - Charlene Libby, Buxton, Maine USA 3:54 EST

2-3 seconds duration. Southeast/Southwest direction. I was facing Southwest. It was green, with no noise and as bright as Venus. It had a visible long tail.

21 February 2013 - Robert Ahti, Seabrook, New Hampshire, USA 3:50 EST

5 seconds duration. The meteor was heading in a southwesterly direction. I was facing west. It was green. I'd say it was of medium brightness. It was very large compared to shooting stars I've seen over my years.

Several Southland residents late Thursday reported witnessing a bright light zoom across the sky.

Dozens of sky watchers told the American Meteor Society that they saw the fire ball. People in Ventura, Anaheim, Van Nuys, Los Angeles, Paso Robles, San Francisco and Santa Barbara posted on the group's website.

In an email to NBC4 News, Laguna Hills resident Patric Barry said he spotted the meteor out of his living room window at about 10:35 p.m.

"I saw a light and looked directly at the meteor as it came down in the ocean off Corona Del Mar. Bits came off, and it was bright white," he wrote.

The sightings come days after Bay Area residents were treated to a light show of their own when a fireball was seen streaking across the sky.