An asteroid perhaps weighing 10 tonnes may have exploded in the atmosphere above Alberta, a rumbling boom being heard across Western Canada, say experts.

Excited geological experts hope pieces of Sunday's [Oct 14] asteroid may have crashed to Earth, and they want to get a chance to search for them.

Alan Hildebrandt, co-ordinator of the Canadian Fireball Reporting Centre, is trying to gather information from as many witnesses as possible to pinpoint where the asteroid's remnants may have landed.

"This object was probably an asteroidal fragment entering the atmosphere, something in the region of one to 10 tonnes," he said.

So far, he's received sightings of the asteroid from Medicine Hat in the east to Mission, B.C., in the west.

"It was seen over hundreds of kilometres of area, even though the region was partially cloudy," said Hildebrandt.

"The loudest sounds reported so far seem to be from the Banff area, so that presumably means the terminal burst, the explosions at the end where the object fragmented, were relatively near there.

"It definitely blew up in the atmosphere."

Hildebrandt said the asteroid travelling at immense speed would experience intense pressure entering the atmosphere until it was literally crushed.

"Much of the object disintegrated into dust, but some of the strongest pieces would survive," he said.

But, Hildebrandt isn't completely confident of recovering pieces, because if they fell in the mountains, it's unlikely they'd be found.

Randy Ilcisin was with three friends driving ATVs about 15 km west of Sundre when they heard the asteroid exploding at 2:30 p.m.

"We all heard it and had no idea what it was. We thought it might be a distant landslide."

Alan Dyer of the Calgary Science Centre is also collecting data on the sightings and hopes to hear from people further west and north who saw, or heard it.

"We believe it may have passed over Lake Louise, several kilometres high in the atmosphere," he said.

•Story originally published by:
Calgary Sun / AB | Peter Smith - Oct 16.01

Sky Boom Accompanies Silver, Elliptical-Shaped Object
[Original headline: Fireball seen in sky]

A booming fireball streaked through the sky yesterday leaving bewildered Calgary-area residents rubbing their eyes in disbelief.

And although Calgarian Holly Goddard saw the spectacle around 2:20 p.m. as she waited at an intersection at Barlow Tr. and McKnight Blvd., she said she had a hard time believing it was just a meteor.

"I saw this smooth, brilliant silver, elliptical-shaped thing shoot out from behind a cloud," she said, adding she also heard a piercing whistle.

Although still unable to confirm if the object was a meteor, astronomer Alan Dyer of the Calgary Science Centre said it could have a huge scientific impact.

"If pieces can be recovered, it's very valuable scientifically." While it is still unclear where pieces of the object eventually landed, some reports indicated they may have fallen in the Northwest Territories.

•Story originally published by:
Calgary Sun / AB | Michelle Mark - Oct 15.01

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