Some of you may have heard reports of the meteor sighting over the prairies last night. I'm pleased to report that, not only did it miss us, but we had a great view of the whole show!
We were driving westward on 44th Street, just opposite the Lloydmall at 5:26 p.m. when the whole sky lit up. There was still a bit of twilight to the west, but this flash changed the sky to a grey-white, mostly white. Our first thought was that an electric transformer had shorted out directly overhead. Thoughts of recent stock market behaviours, and the Eskimo's last game against the 'Riders also danced through my head. Looking south over the Lloydmall, I saw the last second or so of the meteor as it descended, breaking into three or four pieces just before it winked out. It was a yellow in color, kind of like the end of a fireworks shot. We've seen lots of meteorites in the skies but nothing remotely comparable to this. It was like the night launch of the space shuttle!
Apparently people in Medicine Hat, Calgary, Vulcan, Edmonton, Cold Lake, Beauval, The Pas, Brandon, and Saskatoon (to name a few) also observed it. It looked like the thing may have landed a few kilometers away, but apparently it is very difficult to judge distances of meteors as there is no way of knowing how bright or big these things are at the time. People figure that it probably landed somewhere near the Sask-Alta border, south of Lloydminster, but north of Alsask. I figure, maybe Vulcan.
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