Fireball would rank among the year’s sky
highlights, expert says
CALGARY, Alberta - A massive ball of fire that lit up
the skies over two Western Canadian provinces on Thursday evening
was likely among the biggest meteor events to be witnessed in
Canada this year, one expert said.
The fireball, which streaked through the darkening
skies over Alberta and Saskatchewan at about 5:30 p.m. Calgary
time, likely weighed between 1 and 10 tons and shone brightly
enough to be seen over an area 435 miles (700 kilometers) wide.
"It was somewhere between the size of a chair to the
size of a desk," said Alan Hildebrand, a planetary scientist at the
University of Calgary and a coordinator of a fireball reporting
service.
"This one was pretty spectacular. For this year it will
be one of the biggest that happens over Canada. ... Something like
this radiates like a billion-watt bulb. It's a pretty bright light
in the sky."
Hildebrand said the meteor may have broken into
hundreds of smaller meteorites that likely landed in central
Saskatchewan near that province's border with Alberta.
The fireball lit up the skies for about five seconds,
he said.
