Huge "fireball" meteor streaks over Vancouver night sky

Dec 19 2017, 7:45 pm

There have been numerous reports of a large, bright meteor with a long tail streaking over Vancouver’s night skies this evening.

The event occurred at approximately 10:15 p.m., and Vancouverites who witnessed it quickly took to Twitter to share their experiences.

Witnesses say it was so bright to the point that the entire sky and ground lit up from its illumination. The meteor was green in colour and traveled from south to north.

A boom could be heard seconds after it passed, which could indicate that a large meteor disintegrated in mid-air or made contact with land.

The phenomenon could be related to the highly active Perseid Meteor Shower, which peaked from August 11 to 13.

Such incidents frequently occur on Earth, although most meteors burn up as they enter our atmosphere, resulting in the typical “shooting star” meteor shower.

However, on February 15, 2013, a massive fireball meteor streaked over Russia in broad daylight. A shockwave one minute later caused thousands of windows to shatter in the city of Chelyabinsk, injuring approximately 1,500 people from mainly glass-related injuries.

Scientists estimated the meteor from the Russian event weighed 100,000 tonnes and had a diameter of 55 feet before it exploded over the Ural Mountains and crashed into a frozen lake.

Video compilation of the Chelyabinsk meteor event over Russia on February 15, 2013.
[youtube id=”dpmXyJrs7iU”]

The image above is a depiction of what the event closely resembled. If you have any photos and videos of Monday evening’s Vancouver event, please share them with us at [email protected].

 


Featured Image: NASA

DH Vancouver StaffDH Vancouver Staff

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