Meteor lights up the sky over Sydney, seen in Canberra and across NSW

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A meteor has lit up the sky above Sydney and been seen from hundreds of kilometres away tonight.

The bright flash happened about 6.30pm and was seen by many in Sydney, Canberra and elsewhere in regional NSW.

Astrophysicist Dr Brad Tucker said the sighting had been confirmed as a meteor.

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"It was spotted in Canberra and into central NSW," Dr Tucker told nine.com.au.

"The greenish colour indicates it was a meteor, usually with iron and nickel.

"The bright flash midway means it is likely fragmented or broke apart.

"It could 30 to 50 centimetres in size based on the brightness."

Tucker, an associate professor at Australian National University, said the way a meteor was confirmed was by judging its colour and speed.

"Colours of objects indicate what it is made up of. Space junk is usually more yellow," he said.

"Meteors are travelling much faster than say satellites or space junk as well and so they cover a larger distance and are in the sky for a shorter time."

Tucker said it wasn't unheard of for a meteor to be seen, with "larger meteors like this maybe every month or so across Australia". The fortunate thing about tonight's was that it "happened at a good time".

"Early in the evening, so lots of people were still awake and out and about," he said.

"They can happen in the middle of the night."

One person told nine.com.au they were caught off guard by the brightness of the flash that they saw from Waterloo.

"l saw a flash of light in the sky and was so confused, I first thought it was a flare that had been lit," she said.

"Then I noticed this glowing ball of orange falling from the sky. I'd never seen anything like it.

"The whole sky was lit up for all of 10 seconds."

More to come…