Local amateur astronomers are asking the public to check all outdoor video footage to see if they caught a rare meteor sighting.
Dwayne Tilley was helping his neighbour on Sunday around 9 p.m. when he saw a bright light fill the night sky.
What he saw turned out to be a fireball meteor, one of several reportedly seen across Alberta between Sunday night and Monday morning.
“I’ve seen some cool stuff in the past like satellites coming in, burning up… it was something like that, it was like a huge fireball,” added Tilley.
According to the Fort McMurray Amateur Astronomy Enthusiasts group, several people across Wood Buffalo saw the meteor, however, they can’t find any footage.
Jon Tupper, Creator of the Group, says any potential video could go a long way in helping scientists discover more about space.
“It provides us a great deal of scientific information about what’s out there in our solar system and what’s coming into earth’s atmosphere and if we’re really lucky, in a super rare event, one of these meteors may make landfall.”
People are being asked to check doorbell cam footage, dashcam footage, and any other outdoor cameras to see if they caught the meteor crossing the night sky.
Tupper adds they’re hoping to send any footage to groups like the International Meteor Organization so they can study it.
