All-sky cameras capture bright fireball event

A network of all-sky cameras in southern Ontario observed a bright fireball at 11:37pm on Sunday, April 17, 2022. According to the analysis of the video data, fragments of the meteor are likely to have made it to the eastern shore of Lake Simcoe, just north of the town of Argyle.

The physics and astronomy department at Western University has an all-sky camera network that constantly watches the sky. A number of citizen scientist-operated cameras captured the event north of Toronto late Sunday evening, as did more than a dozen all-sky cameras of the Southern Ontario Meteor Network.

This fireball was particularly significant because it was moving slowly, was on an asteroidal path and ended very low in the atmosphere. These are indicators that the material survived.

The fireball was only producing light at 29 km altitude. The very steep entry angle favors survival of meteorites.

Many small meteorites have made it to the ground, according to Vida.

Western's meteor research group has good-quality video data of its passage through the atmosphere so they can calculate rock's origin in our solar system. The fireball first became visible at an altitude of 90 km and traveled north.

The initial mass is believed to be around 10 kilograms and we would expect hundreds of grams of material on the ground.

The dark exterior of meteorites can be seen. Usually they will be denser than normal rock and will be attracted to a magnet due to their metal content. If meteorites are recovered, it is best to place them in a plastic bag or aluminum foil. They should be handled with care to preserve their scientific value. meteorites are owned by the land upon which they are found in Canada. Before going onto private land, individuals need to get permission from the land-owner.

More information: Researchers at Western and the Royal Ontario Museum are interested to hear from anyone in the area of the potential fall who may have heard anything unusual, or who may have found possible meteorites. If you believe you have found a suspicious rock from this event, please contact the Royal Ontario Museum at naturalhistory@rom.on.ca Citation: All-sky cameras capture bright fireball event (2022, April 19) retrieved 19 April 2022 from https://phys.org/news/2022-04-all-sky-cameras-capture-bright-fireball.html This document is subject to copyright. Apart from any fair dealing for the purpose of private study or research, no part may be reproduced without the written permission. The content is provided for information purposes only.