Blazing fireball spotted shooting through Calgary skies

by Stevie Smith - Jan 7 2009, 13:00

Quickly becoming something of a favoured landing zone for all manner of inbound space debris, the skies above Canada have once again been treated to a fiery meteor, which takes the recent total to three in the last couple of months. $Fireball spotted streaking through Calgary skies. Image. D\'Arcy Norman/Flickr.$

Fireball spotted streaking through Calgary skies. Image. D\'Arcy Norman/Flickr.

Putting aside suggestions of an oddly draw out alien invasion, the latest meteor was spotted rushing through the early morning clouds south of Calgary on Monday, January 05, with The Canadian Fireball Reporting Centre (CFRC) receiving around a dozen eyewitness reports on or around 5:45 a.m.However, according to initial comments made by Alan Hildebrand, renowned University of Calgary meteor expert and coordinator of the CFRC, poor visibility conditions on Monday suggested that sighting confirmation and possible impact points would be difficult to establish.Despite the potential hindrance to verification thrown up by the weather, the claimed sightings have been lent a little credence by Sherri Gallant of the Lethbridge Herald, who writes that a CFRC volunteer was able to capture around six seconds of the event on video.Having seen the brief but tantalising black and white footage, Mr. Hildebrand commented that the blazing ball of fire appeared in the skies east-southeast of Calgary before then moving off to the south at a distance of around 200 to 300 kilometres.“It’s hard to say how bright it was, [due to the black and white footage, but] it was certainly a significant fireball,” he said, “I can imagine the rock involved is approximately 10 kilograms, a rock maybe the size of your head.” Hildebrand has also said speed and trajectory suggest the latest sighting is unlikely to be part of the annual Quadrantid meteor shower that rains down upon Western Canada at the beginning of every January.

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I DunnoJan 7th, 2009 - 14:50:25

Holy Scary Muuch !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! :(

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SpockJan 7th, 2009 - 21:26:23

Those dam Borg

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Avalon ChildJan 8th, 2009 - 02:11:23

how interesting this is occuring now..... ive seen one so far, all i can say is it puts the universe into perspective.......... we should be searching for the answer to why so many this year, when else has anyone heard of or reported this frequency of space rocks.....?? makes me wonder and I invite correction and instruction on this..... thankx

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xneonJan 8th, 2009 - 02:41:41

ok.....so where is the fireball?

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OzonatorJan 8th, 2009 - 08:20:26

I am glad you enjoy our air pollution to be fat, dumb, and happy.

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ghostsJan 8th, 2009 - 13:01:00

Ozonator: That's not pollution you bumbling fool, that's WATER VAPOUR from VENTILATION SYSTEMS because it's -15 DEGREES CELCIUS OUTSIDE.

IDIOT.

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GregJan 8th, 2009 - 13:32:41

Anybody else not seeing the Fireball in the picture above? Or is that just a stock image?

Honestly, the frequency of these events is starting to spook me.... (Guess I should stop watching Deep Impact and Armageddon eh?)

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KCJan 8th, 2009 - 13:34:58

Really, there is no 'cosmic meaning' to this...it is interesting but this happens all the time. Its seems unusual mostly because of the media attention. There's lots of astronomical events going on all the time that the media doesn't cover, except when they're bored or having nothing else to write about!

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yourspecialJan 8th, 2009 - 17:14:36

Is every one retarded? who care's bout a little rock?

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Sor_AWCJan 8th, 2009 - 18:14:30

*** Hildebrand has also said speed and trajectory suggest the latest sighting is unlikely to be part of the annual Quadrantid meteor shower that rains down upon Western Canada at the beginning of every January....***

Consult the calendar its the beginning of January

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