A streaking meteor that that recently appeared 100 times
brighter than a full moon was caught on video camera, scientists announced last
week.
As the
fireball plunged into Earth's atmosphere on the evening of Sept. 25, it was
detected by cameras at the University of Western Ontario in Canada. Footage
shows that the meteor, roughly the size of a tricycle, was moving at a speed of
13 miles per second (75,317 kph) as it traveled over southern Ontario.
An analysis of data gathered from the system's records,
meteor radar, and infrasound equipment suggest the meteor was large enough to
have left behind fragments near the Niagara Peninsula. The debris may weigh as
much as several kilograms.
Researchers are interested in hearing from anyone who may
have witnessed, recorded this event or found any of the meteorite
fragments.
"This particular meteorite fall, if any are found, is very
important because its arrival was so well recorded," said Phil McCausland,
a postdoctoral fellow at the University of Western Ontario's Centre for
Planetary Science & Exploration. "We have good camera records as well
as radar and infrasound detections of the event, so that it will be possible to
determine its orbit prior to collision with the Earth and to determine the
energy of the fireball event. We can also figure out where it came from and how
it got here, which is rare. In all of history, only about a dozen meteorite
falls have that kind of record."
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