A brilliant flash and loud boom witnessed by residents of British Columbia on Tuesday night were caused by a meteor streaking through the Earth’s atmosphere, experts have confirmed. Robert Lunsford from the American Meteor Society described the event as a “fireball,” which refers to a larger and brighter meteor than usual. While most meteors are only the size of a pea, their high speed can make them visible in the night sky.
According to Lunsford, a meteor the size of a softball can create a flash as bright as a full moon, qualifying it as a fireball. He explained that the recent meteor, though relatively small, was capable of producing an impressive sight in the sky. The rapid duration of the flash ruled out the possibility of human-made space debris, indicating that it was a natural fireball made of stone, metal, or a combination of both.
Johanna Wagstaffe, a meteorologist and science reporter for CBC News, suggested that the phenomenon was likely caused by a meteor passing through the atmosphere. Seismographs in the area recorded a spike around 9:10 p.m. PT, while the sonic boom observed is a typical sign of a meteor entering the atmosphere. Meteors are not commonly seen in western North America, making this event particularly noteworthy.
Wagstaffe explained that a sonic boom occurs when an object moves through the upper atmosphere at extremely high speeds, compressing and heating the air in front of it. While the meteor likely burned up, further analysis will be conducted by various groups and astronomers to determine the exact details.
NASA confirmed reports of the meteor over the Pacific Northwest, stating that it became visible approximately 98 kilometers above Coquitlam, B.C. The meteor was traveling east of north at a speed of about 33 kilometers per second before disintegrating at an altitude of around 65 kilometers above Greenmantle Mountain in Garibaldi Provincial Park.
Observations of the fireball were reported from as far west as Comox to as far east as Merritt and as far south as Seattle, Washington, according to University of British Columbia astronomy professor Brett Gladman. Initial assessments indicate that the fireball resulted from the natural entry of a rocky asteroid fragment into the Earth’s atmosphere. Gladman noted that the glowing atmosphere and audible boom were caused by the asteroid fragment’s high speed exceeding that of sound, akin to a supersonic jet plane.
The fireball appeared to descend north of Coquitlam, possibly into a heavily forested mountainous area, making the retrieval of any surviving fragments challenging.
