Fragments of Canadian Fireball Found
Written by Nancy Atkinson
Fragments of the big meteorite that lit up the Canadian skies across the provinces of Alberta and Saskatchewan last week have been found, according to a report in CBC online. University of Calgary scientists said they located several meteorite fragments late Thursday afternoon, and they were planning to take reporters to the site Friday. Planetary scientist Dr. Alan Hildebrand and graduate student Ellen Milley believe thousands of meteorite bits from the 10-ton bolide are strewn over a 20-square-kilometre area. The video above of the fireball was taken by a video camera in a police car in Edmonton, Alberta.
The exact site of the findings hasn't yet been disclosed, but is said to be south of the community of Lloydminster on the Alberta-Saskatchewan border. Thousands of people saw the meteor streak across the sky and explode on November 20. It was also captured by numerous surveillance video cameras and a few amateur photographers who happened to have a camera in their hands at the right time. Hildebrand called it one of the largest meteors visible in the country in the last decade.
Source: CBC, via Bad Astronomy
Filed under: Meteorites
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November 29th, 2008 at 9:32 am
Nancy! Be sure to fill us in on the nature of the meteorite! Thanx!
December 3rd, 2008 at 11:57 am
Impressive video. Wow.