CAPTURED from Cape Hillsborough, on the beach no less, a Moura woman reached for her camera just in time for a "once in a lifetime" shot.

Betty Seeney said she's heard stories before about UFOs and certainly believes they're out there.

"You never know..."

"(But) It just looked like a shooting star to start with then it just got longer, bigger and brighter and I said to my husband 'this is no shooting star'," she said.

She was visiting Mackay on an astrophotography workshop on Friday when she witnessed the "20 second exposure".

"I screamed out 'look at this' and they turned around and couldn't believe it," she said. "It was just beautiful. It was a real green teal colour the light and it just disappeared into the ocean... (My husband) could hear it hissing and frizzing coming down."

Mrs Seeney was originally reaching for the camera to capture the milky way around 8.30pm but was glad she got more than she bargained for.

"I take some night time photos but I've never seen anything like that," she said. She's not sure how far away it was, but thought it appeared closer than what it probably was.