A couple in Canada captured the extraordinary moment a meteorite landed in their driveway, becoming the first ever recorded meteorite to land in Prince Edward Island and the first time the sound of a meteorite hitting Earth has been captured on camera.
Joe Velaidum and his partner Laura live on Prince Edward Island in Canada , and were confused when they found a star-shaped pattern of grey dust outside their home last July. Checking their doorbell camera , they spotted the incredible moment a rock appeared from nowhere and landed on the path, scattering dust and fragments.
It must have been moving quickly – it was only visible in one frame of the video – and it appeared to have fallen from the sky, suggesting it was a meteorite and not just a rowdy kid throwing stones. They went outside and gathered up as much of the debris they could find, ending up with about seven grams of crumbling rock. The space rock was only visible in one frame of the footage – but the sound of it hitting Earth was clearly audible. More specimens including dust and fragments were found. The impact left a starburst of dust on the driveway. They sent the samples off to Chris Herd, curator of the University of Alberta’s Meteorite Collection, who confirmed their suspicions: this piece of rock was in fact a meteorite. By chance, Chris had planned a family trip to Prince Edward Island just 10 days later. He made a diversion to Joe and Laura’s home to check out the crash site and try to collect more samples. Not only was this the first ever recorded meteorite to land in Prince Edward Island, but it marks an even bigger milestone as it is the first time the sound of a meteorite hitting Earth has been caught on camera. Joe said they never would have imagined their doorbell camera, used to monitor home deliveries, could end up capturing the first recorded sound of a meteorite hitting Earth. Chris said: ‘As the first and only meteorite from the province of Prince Edward Island, the Charlottetown Meteorite sure announced its arrival in a spectacular way. ‘No other meteorite fall has been documented like this, complete with sound. ‘It adds a whole new dimension to the natural history of the Island.’ An indentation was left in the driveway from the force of the impact. These were the biggest pieces of the meteor found. Chris told CBC that meteorites usually enter Earth’s atmosphere travelling at about 60,000kmph, before slowing down to terminal velocity. The piece of space rock probably would have been moving at about 200kmph when it hit the ground – meaning it was extremely fortunate that Joe had left the house to walk his dogs just minutes earlier. ‘It’s really awesome,’ Chris added. ‘It’s actually the first and only meteorite ever found on the Island, and what a way to make that discovery. ‘Every time that this happens, it’s a new sample from space. It’s from the asteroid belt… between Mars and Jupiter, so it’s come a long way.
METEORITE PRINCE EDWARD ISLAND CANADA DOORBELL CAMERA SPACE ROCK ASTRONOMY UNIVERSITY OF ALBERTA CHRIS HERD
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