Fireball leaves 'great glow' in Alberta sky
Last Updated: Tuesday, March 31, 2009 | 3:46 PM ET
CBC News
Some early risers in Alberta got a glimpse of a fireball streaking across the sky Tuesday morning.
University of Calgary geologist Alan Hildebrand said about a dozen witnesses reported the sight to the Canadian Fireball Reporting Centre.
A meteor, weighing between 10 and 100 kilograms, broke into pieces southeast of Calgary about 6:30 a.m. local time and likely burned up before hitting the ground, said Hildebrand.
Roger Kunkel was driving from Raymond to Lethbridge just after 6:30 a.m. Tuesday when he saw a "great glow" in the sky coming from the southeast and heading north.
"Sort of a blue and then breaking up into pieces. It was like you could almost go out into the field and find it, it was so close. It was a beautiful sight."
Callers who left messages on CBC Calgary's traffic line seemed to have differing opinions on which direction the fireball was heading.
"It kind of disintegrated. It was travelling north to south. Very bright. I actually thought it was a plane taking off from the airport and then bits started falling off. Really quite an amazing sight," said one man.
Another said he saw a "flurry of meteorites flying around," travelling in a southeasterly direction.
"Pretty wonderful way to start a Tuesday morning," he said.
People also called CBC Edmonton to say they saw a fireball in the sky.
On Nov. 20, thousands of people on the Prairies spotted a fireball that lit up the skies across Alberta and Saskatchewan. Fragments of the huge meteorite were found near the border city of Lloydminster.
With files from Canadian Press
