The skies of Nelson were clear enough on Thursday evening for some residents to see a large bright green meteor flash across the sky.
Astronomers say the bright green light indicated it was relatively large and moving very fast which caused the air to ionize and glow like an aurora.
Greg Price in Nelson captured it on his camera that he had pointed south of Richmond, all in the hope of getting a shot of the Southern Lights.
Instead he got the photo of a lifetime.
![Original photo of the meteor streaking across the sky. Photo / Greg Price](https://www.nzherald.co.nz/resizer/v2/4G4S2KVST5WDUHLME4ELJF7YCY.png?auth=b3b629fad5d14041fc7c0b86e047bdcf3fa4d025692c8fc05b1688db05c84a8a&width=16&height=9&quality=70&smart=true)