As fireball lights up Calgary sky, Calgarians light up social media
Reports received from across Alberta and B.C. after apparent meteor seen streaking to the south
It didn't take long after a giant fireball lit up the sky above Alberta and B.C. on Monday night for Calgarians to take to social media with photos, videos and posts.
flashed through the sky <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/Calgary?src=hash">#Calgary</a> NW 11.10pm <a href="https://t.co/KWQXChUju6">pic.twitter.com/KWQXChUju6</a>
—@lava_pillaiThe RCMP got dozens of calls from people across the southern parts of the provinces reporting a bright flash and a sonic boom just after 11 p.m. MT. Reports on social media exploded.
- Did you get a photo or video of the fireball? Share them with us on CBC Calgary's Facebook page, on Twitter or email [email protected].
11:13 PM Extremely Bright Object in Sky; Headed WSW. <a href="https://t.co/f6tNnZm57f">https://t.co/f6tNnZm57f</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/yyc?src=hash">#yyc</a>
—@Alberta411CBC Calgary reporter Drew Anderson was among those who posted about the fireball.
Something huge just fell to earth looking south in Calgary. Big fireball. Lit up the sky.
—@DrewPAndersonMany were wondering what it was.
Anyone see a huge object come down SW of <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/Calgary?src=hash">#Calgary</a> 2 mins ago? It lit the sky w/ green flashes & fire/sparks peeling off. Didn't hear it land
—@RussellhannonOthers said it shook houses.
It was huge in the sky in Calgary! Shaking houses.. resonant sounds for a minute.. whoa!!
—@DWSavenkoCBC News has not independently confirmed videos posted to Twitter claiming to have captured the spectacle, many on automated security cameras.
The Calgary Eyeopener's astronomy expert, Don Hladiuk, explained what people might have been seeing.
"A fireball is a slightly larger meteor," he said Tuesday morning. "So meteors are grains of sand, space dust, that enter our atmosphere at high velocity and basically light up. Their final moments are a burst of brilliance. A fireball is a larger object."
While there were some reports that parts of the object may have hit the ground — which would then make it a meteorite — this has not been confirmed and a number of landing locations conflicted with others.
So a metorite fell from the sky said Hi to Calgary and Spokane,etc. Made it's final destination in a landfill in Bonner's Ferry, Idaho. 😱
—@PotatoBVBQueenBrett Gladman, a professor of astronomy at the University of British Columbia and member of the Meteorite and Impact Advisory Committee of the Canadian Space Agency — formerly a committee of the National Research Council of Canada, told CBC News it was likely a meteor travelling south to north, visible from hundreds of kilometres away.
Gladman said the meteor had a terminal burst near Meadow Creek, B.C. and there is not enough information right now to know if fragments landed.
And searching for fragments won't be easy, as Gladman says the possible area could cover tens of thousands of square kilometres.
With files from the Calgary Eyeopener