Police dash cam of Meteor over Edmonton, Canada
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Police dash cam of Meteor over Edmonton, Canada
Star struck: Meteor blazes across the sky in police video
By Claire Bates
Last updated at 4:55 PM on 21st November 2008
A spectacular and almost blindingly bright meteor sparked a flurry of emergency calls to the police after it lit up the skies over western Canada.
Onlookers across the province of Alberta watched in awe, describing a kaleidoscope of colours as the rock rapidly descended.
'At first I thought it was fireworks,' farmer Marcel Gobeil said.
'I've never seen anything like it; it was green and blue and then turned to bright red. It was pretty big.'
Emergency services across the region began receiving calls from 5.30pm on Thursday, with some also reporting hearing a distant 'boom.'
And the police had no reason to doubt the claims. A video camera on one of their local patrol cars had captured the whole dramatic episode.
As the vehicle cruises down a street the footage shows a small bright light appearing in the sky before hurtling towards the Earth disappearing in an explosion of light just five seconds later.
Shawn Mitchler was pumping petrol into his car in Radisson, when he saw the 10-second light show.
'My heart just started racing because I didn't know what it was,' he told The Windsor Star.
'It seemed like fireworks or a missile coming down,' he said.
Astronomers will assess tapes and eyewitness reports to try and discover where the meteor fell, although Edmonton scientist Alister Ling said early analysis suggests central Alberta.
Chris Herd, a professor from the University of Alberta said the descriptions suggested the meteor could in fact be a substantial meteorite weighing a few tonnes and measuring a few metres across.
More meteorites, fragments of rocks or metals that survive the fall from space to Earth, have been found in Alberta than any other Canadian province.
'The question now that remains is whether anything made it to the ground,' Professor Herd said.
'This thing was so bright it indicates that it's a pretty good-sized piece of space rock.'
Though one video viewer had his own hypothesis: 'Perhaps it was the toolbox dropped by the female astronaut recently?' he said.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e_2aX-784sw
By Claire Bates
Last updated at 4:55 PM on 21st November 2008
A spectacular and almost blindingly bright meteor sparked a flurry of emergency calls to the police after it lit up the skies over western Canada.
Onlookers across the province of Alberta watched in awe, describing a kaleidoscope of colours as the rock rapidly descended.
'At first I thought it was fireworks,' farmer Marcel Gobeil said.
'I've never seen anything like it; it was green and blue and then turned to bright red. It was pretty big.'
Emergency services across the region began receiving calls from 5.30pm on Thursday, with some also reporting hearing a distant 'boom.'
And the police had no reason to doubt the claims. A video camera on one of their local patrol cars had captured the whole dramatic episode.
As the vehicle cruises down a street the footage shows a small bright light appearing in the sky before hurtling towards the Earth disappearing in an explosion of light just five seconds later.
Shawn Mitchler was pumping petrol into his car in Radisson, when he saw the 10-second light show.
'My heart just started racing because I didn't know what it was,' he told The Windsor Star.
'It seemed like fireworks or a missile coming down,' he said.
Astronomers will assess tapes and eyewitness reports to try and discover where the meteor fell, although Edmonton scientist Alister Ling said early analysis suggests central Alberta.
Chris Herd, a professor from the University of Alberta said the descriptions suggested the meteor could in fact be a substantial meteorite weighing a few tonnes and measuring a few metres across.
More meteorites, fragments of rocks or metals that survive the fall from space to Earth, have been found in Alberta than any other Canadian province.
'The question now that remains is whether anything made it to the ground,' Professor Herd said.
'This thing was so bright it indicates that it's a pretty good-sized piece of space rock.'
Though one video viewer had his own hypothesis: 'Perhaps it was the toolbox dropped by the female astronaut recently?' he said.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e_2aX-784sw
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Joined: Sep 2007
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From: >wwOwww<
Man I love those things. I hope they find it soon, I'd love to read a study of it.
This time of year we're in the Leonid Meteor belt. More of these things actualy fall than are reported, because some of the ones that fall in the daytime, and are smaller , so don't get identified. Thay move so fast that the Radar guys think they see them, but they're gone, they're just to fast to record.
The Leonid generaly land in Canada and rarely prats of Siberia and The Ukrain because of the origional trajectory rock that made the belt itself, it's path was altered in a colision with somethig else, a long time ago.
I think it is a little early this year for one that large. But we haven't recovered enough of them to get the full picture yet.
Cool find!!!
This time of year we're in the Leonid Meteor belt. More of these things actualy fall than are reported, because some of the ones that fall in the daytime, and are smaller , so don't get identified. Thay move so fast that the Radar guys think they see them, but they're gone, they're just to fast to record.
The Leonid generaly land in Canada and rarely prats of Siberia and The Ukrain because of the origional trajectory rock that made the belt itself, it's path was altered in a colision with somethig else, a long time ago.
I think it is a little early this year for one that large. But we haven't recovered enough of them to get the full picture yet.
Cool find!!!
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I saw the flash of light, thought a trandsformer exploded on a nearby street.
They say they got reports all the way from Alberto to Manitoba, and issued a press release within hours just to tell people to stop calling.
Thats amazing!!!
They say they got reports all the way from Alberto to Manitoba, and issued a press release within hours just to tell people to stop calling.
Thats amazing!!!
.