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Massive Fireball Falls Over Alberta and Saskatchewan, Canada
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by Jared Aicher - Storm Chaser | November 20, 2008 at 08:19 pm
14296 views | 86 Recommendations | 24 comments
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A bright meteor streaked across the skies of Saskatchewan and Alberta, Canada on November 20, 2008 at approximately 5:26 PM MST, prompting telephone calls to police stations, NORAD, and news stations from North Dakota to Edmonton, Alberta. In Fact, so many calls were coming in to the Lloydminster, Alberta police station that they had to ask the NewCap News Team to ask people to stop calling in. Witnesses reported that the night sky turned to day and a deep rumbling was heard as the fireball streaked by overhead. Witnesses also reported that the fireball was followed by a thick smoke trail that lasted up to ten minutes. Locals at the Red Pheasant First Nation, 100 kilometers northeast of Saskatoon, Saskatchewan, said the walls of their band office shook as the meteor passed overhead. A security camera at a Maidstone, Saskatchewan video store, located 50 kilometers southeast of Lloydminster, recorded the parking lot being illuminated twice as the meteor exploded overhead.
The Leonid Meteor Shower was active at the time of the fireball; however, the meteor was most likely an asteroid from the asteroid belt (located between Mars and Jupiter) that ranged in size from a basketball to a large desk.
Officials believe that if the fireball made it to the ground, it fell south of Lloydminster, Alberta between Wainwright, Alberta and North Battleford, Saskatchewan. Reports of people searching for the meteorite are coming in as scientists, rock hunters and locals search the rural farm country around Macklin, Saskatchewan for any trace of the dramatic fireball. If the meteor broke up before it hit the ground, pieces could be spread over a very large area.
Currently, meteorite hunters are racing against Mother Nature to find the space rock. Snow flurries have left a dusting over the possible impact area, but above freezing temperatures have melted the thin layer of snow, allowing for the search to continue. If the heavy winter snows arrive on the Canadian prairies before the meteorite is found, searchers will have to wait for the spring thaw to resume their hunt.
Stay tuned as more information becomes available.
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Most RecentMost Recommended Comments (24)
at 20:28 on November 20th, 2008
I look forward to the video, I guess with the current meteor shower there is no point in me hoping this is a Canadian Roswell incident!
at 21:15 on November 20th, 2008
CTV showed footage on the evening news captured from security cams, showing it slamming into the ground south of Calgary http://www.ctv.ca/servlet/ArticleNews/story/CTVNews/20081120/alta_fireball_081120/20081120?hub=TopStories The footage isn't there but you can view the evening newscast on that website.
at 08:44 on November 21st, 2008
I wish I could have seen it!
at 12:44 on November 21st, 2008
That looked crazy.
Can't believe some people caught that on tape. I'm always 1 second too late when trying to capture something spontaneously. Taking out the camera - power on - record. Its over by then.
at 12:59 on November 21st, 2008
I hear you!
at 13:17 on November 21st, 2008
AWESOME story. Congrats! Wish I could have seen it but glad you posted it! Have been a star-chaser from way back in the 60's.
at 14:41 on November 21st, 2008
I wish I could have seen it too!
at 14:20 on November 21st, 2008
what about ppl was there before that thing?is it any rescued report?is celine dion living near alberta?
at 17:15 on November 21st, 2008
Wow what a trip. great story as usual from Jared Aicher
at 09:49 on November 22nd, 2008
Than you panzerlawyer -
at 18:52 on November 21st, 2008
Wow, I was lucky enough to see the Fire-Ball from Manitou Beach in Central Saskatchewan. Pretty lucky that I just happened to outside right at that moment. It was a very weird sensation, something right out of Steven Spielberg! You can read my blog post about it here.
at 05:19 on November 22nd, 2008
Wow
at 15:53 on November 22nd, 2008
I am a teacher in central Wisconsin, we were eating dinner during a parent teacher conference night in the second floor teacher,s room and one of our teachers saw the flash in the sky!
at 16:34 on November 22nd, 2008
Thanks for the report! I've had reports as far away as Ontario, Canada -
at 16:37 on November 22nd, 2008
Keep sending in your reports everyone! Thank you....
at 23:14 on November 22nd, 2008
My 14 year old nefew saw it north west of Edmonton on my sisters farm. He reports that the sky lit up orange and for a second he could see clearly the whole acreage plus the ajoining one lit up. He described it as fireworks with a bright orange tail and a white/silver center with sparks flying off it.
at 09:21 on November 23rd, 2008
that was a ufo shot down by our military. It has been done so many times in the past, just like Roswell
at 10:59 on November 23rd, 2008
Great video capture of the event! I'll be interested in the followup once they find something. Good report.
at 13:13 on November 23rd, 2008
If you're a meteor hunter who's short of cash, check out Jared's update.
at 22:57 on November 23rd, 2008
I live in southern California, USA. My son is in the Air Force and working at a local air base. He was outside on base, walking around, talking to me on his cell phone the evening of the 20th. While we talked, all of a sudden he stopped mid-sentence and uttered something in amazement. He then told me that he had just seen a meteorite light up the northern sky. Its trajectory was from the south, arcing towards the north northeast, and green-ish in color, much larger than any meteorite he's ever seen. Moreover, he also saw pieces of it trailing away and burning up as it disintegrated.
He was standing in the exterior center court of a two-story U-shaped building, with the bottom part of the U north-facing, so the architect of the structure prevented him from having a clear view of the northernmost horizon. But, from what he could observe of the meteorite's final descent, he believed it fell apart in the atmosphere.
Despite the distance between his location and Canada, could it have been the same meteorite as the 'Edmonton' meteorite? Kind of weird that he would see something like that and then discover a video of it online, taken on the same evening, but over 1700 miles away!
Anyway, I thought I would share about that. It's all quite fascinating and I'm hoping that they find the impact site!
at 13:04 on November 24th, 2008
Thank you for the info! It was most likely a bright Leonid Meteor, from the Leonid Meteor Shower that was occuring the same night. The Leonid Shower is known for it's bright bolides, and can produce the green fireballs. The fact that he saw it breaking up while still high in the atmosphere points in the meteor shower direction.
One fascinating piece of information, however, is that when you observe a meteor overhead, even with it's short life, it often covers a vast distance. You are observing something that is often time 60-80 miles above you traveling up to 160,000 miles per hour when it first hits the upper atmosphere. It may look like it only covered 10-20 degrees of the sky from where you stand, but may have actually hit the upper atmosphere over north Dakota and ended up over the Pacific Ocean some where.
Thanks for the report!
at 11:18 on November 24th, 2008
That is nutty.
at 20:54 on November 24th, 2008
Anybody missing a $100000 dollar toolbag? Where is My Umbrella? Crazy Space Lady
could at least yell " LOOK OUT BELOW "
Odds of getting hit by space junk and Hitting the Lotto crazily coincidental?
at 07:42 on November 25th, 2008
I was driving on the highway heading to Lethbridge Alberta when I saw a bright light to my right, so I turned my head and saw the orange fireball.. amazing!! I was so excited I called my husband right after!
The second fireball I have been lucky enough to see!