A loud boom and bright light seen in the sky Sunday night over Vancouver Island was likely a meteor, says a seismologist with the Geological Survey of Canada.
John Cassidy, also a professor at the University of Victoria, often investigates loud B次元官网网址渂oomsB次元官网网址� associated with mining blasts or blomidesB次元官网网址攅xploding meteorsB次元官网网址攅ven though his specialty is studying ground-based factors like earthquakes.
B次元官网网址淚tB次元官网网址檚 really just an airwave or sound waveB次元官网网址� that rattles the windows when a meteor enters EarthB次元官网网址檚 atmosphere, much like how an airplane breaking the sound barrier creates a boom, he explained.
Sean Baxandall was driving south in the Willow Point area of Highway 19A south of Campbell River when his dashcam caught a bright light moving through the sky. B次元官网网址淔rom where we were it looked like it landed in the ocean, but it was hard to tell,B次元官网网址� he said.
Numerous people south of Nanaimo said they heard a loud bang that rattled their windows. Constance Leverton was making dinner in her Maple Bay home Sunday night when she heard a big boom. B次元官网网址淚t was loud with all the windows closed,B次元官网网址� she said.
Other neighbours quickly chimed in on a local Facebook page about their experiences hearing the noise too.
Reports started hitting social media after 5 p.m. from as far south as Victoria and as far north as Campbell River on the Island from people who either heard the boom, saw a bright light travelling through the sky or both. Alberni Valley B次元官网网址 reporter Elena Rardon was driving back to Port Alberni from Beaver Creek when she saw a bright yellowish light, moving fast in the direction of Mt. Arrowsmith.
B次元官网网址淚 assumed it was a firework, but it was travelling down instead of up,B次元官网网址� she said. B次元官网网址淚t was very bright and moved fast.B次元官网网址�
Cassidy said the first-hand accounts point to a classic exploding meteor, or bolide. B次元官网网址淎n exploding meteor makes the most sense, seen and heard over a large areaB次元官网网址攂ut no significant group shaking,B次元官网网址� he said. B次元官网网址淲e see these types of eventsB次元官网网址攅xploding meteorB次元官网网址攅very now and then. They are often associated with loud booms, flashing lights and rattling windows from the air wave.B次元官网网址�
The reason some people in the North Island saw a bright flash of light and others down-Island heard the boom at a slightly delayed time is the same principle with lightning, Cassidy said: the speed of light is faster than the speed of sound. B次元官网网址淚tB次元官网网址檚 like lightning: thereB次元官网网址檚 quite a delay from seeing the flash and hearing the explosion (thunder).B次元官网网址�
He said the event also likely happened kilometres up in the air.
One possible reason for the meteor appearing on Sunday was the expected Geminid meteor shower estimated to occur Dec. 13B次元官网网址�14. Astronomy educator and Royal Astronomical Society of Canada columnist Gary Boyle explained that meteor showers occur at the same time every year because they are usually produced by a comet that rounds the sun.
The Geminids, according to Boyle, are not caused by a comet but rather by debris from a 5.8-kilometre diameter asteroid named 3200 Phaethon. He called the Geminid meteors B次元官网网址渆arth grazersB次元官网网址� because they typically donB次元官网网址檛 enter the atmosphere.
A or meteoroid that enters EarthB次元官网网址檚 atmosphere at a high speed and burns up, causing a B次元官网网址渟hooting starB次元官网网址� in the sky. A meteorite, according to NASA Science, is a meteoroid that survives a trip through the atmosphere and hits the ground. It is not common for meteorites to make it all the way to the EarthB次元官网网址檚 surface.
Cassidy and his seismology colleagues meanwhile will be looking at ground recordings from many different reporting sites to see whether SundayB次元官网网址檚 B次元官网网址渂oomB次元官网网址� registered.
B次元官网网址淚f itB次元官网网址檚 big enough to generate any sort of ground shakes, which is going to be minute compared to an earthquakeB次元官网网址t gets complicated because itB次元官网网址檚 coming from a sound wave.B次元官网网址�
Cassidy said he studied seismic recordings a few years ago when pieces of a meteor actually landed in northern AlbertaB次元官网网址攁 rarity. B次元官网网址淲e had one that generated some really large seismic waves,B次元官网网址� he said. Scientists were able to look at the recordings and determine an approximate location where the meteorite landed, and material was actually recovered.
B次元官网网址淭heyB次元官网网址檙e really interesting events,B次元官网网址� Cassidy said of meteor sightings. B次元官网网址淚f a chunk of rock survives theyB次元官网网址檙e really important for our astronomy colleagues to better understand the universe.B次元官网网址�
B次元官网网址� With files from Aaron Hinks, Black Press
susie.quinn@albernivalleynews.com
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