[meteorite-list] Cameras capture meteor streaking across southwestern Ontario sky

From: Greg Stanley <stanleygregr_at_meteoritecentral.com>
Date: Wed, 7 Oct 2009 14:22:35 -0700
Message-ID: <SNT117-W36AF604E1B8451FCFAD28AD2CD0_at_phx.gbl>

Another to find.

Greg S.


http://www.google.com/hostednews/canadianpress/article/ALeqM5gc02xq2SfHYi7MU5cBzKdFRI9wLQ

LONDON, Ont. ? Astronomers at the University of Western Ontario have
captured footage of a meteor streaking across the night sky, and are
now asking residents in a region of southwestern Ontario to help hunt
for fragments of what could be a very important find.A
"brilliant fireball" approximately 100 times brighter than a full moon
lit up the skies over the west end of Lake Ontario on Sept. 25 at 9:03
p.m.The university's physics and astronomy department has a
network of "all-sky" cameras in southern Ontario that monitor for
meteors and seven cameras captured video images of the meteor.University
astronomers are now asking residents around Grimsby, Ont., to help
recover one or more possible meteorites as they may provide some
fascinating answers."This particular meteorite fall, if any are
found, is very important because its arrival was so well recorded,"
Phil McCausland, a postdoctoral fellow at the university's Centre for
Planetary Science and Exploration, said in a statement.The
images as well as radar and infrasound information can help the
astronomers piece together the meteor's orbit before it fell to Earth
and determine the energy of the fireball event."We can also figure out where it came from and how it got here, which is rare," McCausland said."In all of history only about a dozen meteorite falls have that kind of record."Camera
images and other data indicate the meteoroid, originally the size of a
tricycle, dropped meteorites that may weigh up to several kilograms in
a region south of Grimsby on the Niagara Peninsula.Researchers
are interested in hearing from anyone within 10 kilometres of Grimsby
who may have seen the fireball or who may find possible meteorite
fragments.In Canada, meteorites belong to the owner of the land
on which they are discovered, so any amateur meteorite hunters should
get permission of a landowner before searching there, McCausland said.Meteorites
are black on the outside, are usually denser than normal rock and will
often attract a fridge magnet because of their metal content. In this
case the meteorites may be found in a small hole in the ground due to
the force of their fall, McCausland said.Anyone who recovers a
possible meteorite is asked to place it in a clean plastic bag or
container and handle it as little as possible.
                                               
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Received on Wed 07 Oct 2009 05:22:35 PM PDT