A Tauranga security guard has been left astounded after capturing an unexpected meteor while working an overnight shift.
Andrew Savage was settling down for his break at Mount Maunganui's Bayfair Mall when he noticed the strange, bright flash of light on the CCTV footage at 2:41am on Sunday.
"I was doing the night shift, working overnight, and was just about to have my break when I looked at my computer and happened to glance at the flash out of the corner of my eye," Savage explained to Newshub.
"I couldn't believe it at first, I was second-guessing myself."
He said once he reviewed the footage he realised he had indeed captured a meteor.
The footage, shared with Newshub, shows the ball of light moving quickly before disappearing behind a building.
"I couldn't quite tell how far away it would have landed, but it looks like it would've been only a few blocks away from the mall, perhaps on Farm St."
Savage admitted he assumed it could've been a firework at first glance "because the neighbours often set things off".
"I was quite stunned when I realised what it actually was," he said.
"I just feel so lucky to have seen it. It was one of those moments where you just don't expect it to happen, and to have caught it on camera is amazing. Very lucky shot."
According to NASA, meteors are when meteoroids enter Earth's atmosphere at high speed and burn up into a fireball.
When a meteoroid survives a trip through the atmosphere and hits the ground, it's called a meteorite.
