Meteor-dropping fireball over Edmonton, Alberta, Canada

A very bright fireball streaked through the night sky over Edmonton, Alberta, Canada at around 04:28 UTC on September 1, 2019 (22:28 local time, August 31). The event lasted for about 5 seconds before the object disintegrated. There is possibility pieces of the object have survived atmospheric entry.

The American Meteor Society (AMS) received 105 reports from Alberta and Saskatchewan, Canada and Montana, U.S.

"The size, we don’t know yet, but the fact that some people reported sounds and that it changed in brightness as it came down would certainly suggest that this is what we call a meteoroid," said Chris Herd, a University of Alberta geologist who is the province’s foremost expert on meteorites. "That would be the rock as it came in from space as it goes through the atmosphere."

"The significance of the event is that it happened at the perfect time for a whole city to get a chance to see it." 

Herd added the object might have been about 1 m (3.3 feet) in size, which would create a fair number of pieces on the ground. If you 

If you find a rock you think is a meteorite, University of Alberta, he said, adding that space rocks are the property of the owner of the land they fall on.

Fireball over Edmonton, Canada on September 1, 2019 - heatmap. Credit: AMS

Featured image: Fireball over Edmonton, Canada on September 1, 2019. Credit: Lowe Family