Western astronomers on hunt for meteor
Friday, March 7, 2008
Astronomers from The University of Western Ontario have captured rare video of a
meteor falling to Earth, and are hoping to enlist the help of local residents in
recovering one or more possible meteorites that may have crashed in the Parry
Sound area.
The Physics and Astronomy Department at Western has a
network of all-sky cameras in Southern Ontario that scan the sky monitoring for
meteors. Associate Professor Peter Brown, who specializes in the study of
meteors and meteorites, says that Wednesday evening (March 5) at 10:59 p.m. EST
these cameras captured video of a large fireball and the department has also
received a number of calls and emails from people who actually saw the light.
Brown along with Wayne Edwards, a post doctorate student, are now working to get the word out among interested people who may be willing to see if they can spot any fallen meteorites.
“Most meteoroids burn up by the time they hit an altitude of 60 or 70 kilometres from Earth," says Edwards. “We tracked this one to an altitude of about 24 kilometres so we are pretty sure there are at least one, and possibly many meteorites, that made it to the ground."
Edwards says the lab can narrow the ground location where the meteorite would have fallen, to about 12 square kilometres and have created a map that may assist in locating the meteorite. The rock, or rocks, would probably weigh a kilogram or slightly more.
“We would love to find a recovered meteorite on this one, because we have the video and we have the data and by putting that together with the meteorite, there is a lot to be learned."
Wayne Edwards is available for interviews and/or to report finds at 519-850-2385. He can also be reached via email at wedwards@uwo.ca
If you would like to receive a 14-mb video file of the meteor in avi format, maps or an image, please reply to this email.
MEDIA CONTACT: Jeff Renaud, Media Relations Officer, 519-661-2111, ext. 85165
received a number of calls and emails from people who actually saw the light.
Brown along with Wayne Edwards, a post doctorate student, are now working to get the word out among interested people who may be willing to see if they can spot any fallen meteorites.
“Most meteoroids burn up by the time they hit an altitude of 60 or 70 kilometres from Earth," says Edwards. “We tracked this one to an altitude of about 24 kilometres so we are pretty sure there are at least one, and possibly many meteorites, that made it to the ground."
Edwards says the lab can narrow the ground location where the meteorite would have fallen, to about 12 square kilometres and have created a map that may assist in locating the meteorite. The rock, or rocks, would probably weigh a kilogram or slightly more.
“We would love to find a recovered meteorite on this one, because we have the video and we have the data and by putting that together with the meteorite, there is a lot to be learned."
Wayne Edwards is available for interviews and/or to report finds at 519-850-2385. He can also be reached via email at wedwards@uwo.ca
If you would like to receive a 14-mb video file of the meteor in avi format, maps or an image, please reply to this email.
MEDIA CONTACT: Jeff Renaud, Media Relations Officer, 519-661-2111, ext. 85165
Media Releases Feed
