Mysterious Fireball Crosses the Canadian Sky, Here's the Chronology
Right in the middle of this week, a fireball appeared in the sky of Ontario, Canada. The image of the unidentified object was captured by the Western University All-Sky Camera Network as it crossed Southern Ontario and Quebec.
According to analysis conducted by astronomers, the rock from outer space has a size of 12 inches or 30 cm. The fireball is estimated to be 400,000 dimmer than the Sun or as bright as the full moon.
When the meteor is in Earth’s atmosphere, friction occurs which makes the rock hot like a fireball. The object then breaks and forms several scattered pieces.
The results from Western University’s catch were then used as material for researchers to estimate the origin of the meteor. Steven Ehlert of NASA’s Meteoroid Environment Office has also analyzed the video. He said the fragments may have hit the ground close to Bancroft, Ontario.
Based on the results of a preliminary analysis, researchers think the fireball first started burning in the sky 58 miles or 93 kilometers south of Oshawa over Lake Ontario. Then it passed the embers of Peterborough and finally disappeared on its own west of Bancroft.
So if you find a mysterious stone and to determine whether it is a meteorite or not, you can identify the following signs.
- Meteorites have a dark color with a scalloped surface
- Usually solid than average rock
- Contains metal and usually meteorites are often attracted to magnets