Tuesday, December 8th 2020, 5:30 pm – With relatively clear skies at the time, this bright meteor was seen for hundreds of kilometres around.
A bright meteor fireball flashed through the sky early on Monday night. Did you see it?
We are fast approaching the December 14 peak of the Geminid Meteor Shower, but our night sky had a surprise for us on Monday night. At around 7:30 p.m. EST, a fireball blazed a steep 60-km long path through the air over Brockville, ON. From the edge of space down to about 35 km above the ground, this bright meteor lit up the night.
According to the American Meteor Society, over 150 witnesses reported the event — from as far away as eastern Michigan to the west, Sudbury to the north, Montreal to the east, and from Boston to Washington, DC, to the south.
According to Western University meteor scientist Denis Vida, the Brockville fireball was likely caused by a 10 kg space rock, travelling at around 50,000 km/h, as it plunged at a steep angle through the air.
Based on video footage gathered from several sources, the meteoroid broke apart into several fragments on its journey towards the ground.
