Posted: May 01, 2021 7:30 AM MT | Last Updated: May 1
A comet fragment burning up in Earth s atmosphere in February 2021 is captured by the Hesje Observatory, southeast of Edmonton.(Hesje Observatory)
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Monday morning fireball was a comet fragment burning up in Earth’s atmosphere
Western Canadians caught a glimpse of a bright flash overhead this week as a fireball lit up the sky on Monday morning. Now, University of Alberta researchers have used Western Canada’s most advanced fireball network to capture images and trajectory of the fireball revealing it to be a small piece of a comet that burned up in the atmosphere.
“Using two observation sites, we were able to calculate both its trajectory and velocity, which tell us about the origin of the meteor and reveal that it was a piece of a comet,” said Patrick Hill, post-doctoral fellow in the Department of Earth and Atmospheric Sciences. “This chunk was largely made of dust and ice, burning up immediately without leaving anything to find on the ground but instead giving us a spectacular flash.”
Prairie fireball was comet fragment burning up in Earth s atmosphere
The fireball that lit up the sky across the Prairies on Monday morning was a small piece of a comet that burned up in the atmosphere, researchers at the University of Alberta say.
Social Sharing Hitting our atmosphere would have been like hitting a brick wall for something travelling at this speed
CBC News ·
Posted: Feb 25, 2021 1:13 PM MT | Last Updated: February 25
Lea Storry was in her home office in downtown Edmonton on Monday when she saw the flash of light streak across the sky. (Lea Storry/Twitter)
The fireball that lit up the sky across the Prairies on Monday morning was a small piece of a comet that burned up in the atmosphere, researchers at the University of Alberta say.
What caused Alta s fireball Monday? U of A scientists solve incredible mystery edmonton.ctvnews.ca - get the latest breaking news, showbiz & celebrity photos, sport news & rumours, viral videos and top stories from edmonton.ctvnews.ca Daily Mail and Mail on Sunday newspapers.
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The University of Alberta has a new option for looking into the night sky at its new Hesje Observatory, located at the Augustana Miquelon Lake Research Station.
This new observatory will allow students, researchers and members of the public to see the night sky with no light pollution through a PlaneWave 17” Corrected Dall-Kirkham telescope.
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The observatory, located in Miquelon Lake Provincial Park roughly 60 km southeast of Edmonton, is set to open virtually on Jan. 12 at 6:30 p.m. through a webinar.