Pieces of ’08 meteorite to be displayed at Royal Saskatchewan Museum

REGINA – Pieces of a meteor that lit up the Saskatchewan sky above Lloydminster in 2008 can now be viewed at an exhibit at the Royal Saskatchewan Museum.

The meteor could be seen and heard by people in Alberta, Saskatchewan, Manitoba and Montana as it blasted through our atmosphere.

A research team from the University of Calgary found the first meteorite fragment on a frozen pond nearly a week later. After that more than 1,000 pieces of the shattered object were collected, making it one of the largest accumulations of debris from a  single meteor ever recorded in Canada.

The meteorite exhibit at the RSM will show pieces that landed on Alex and Ian Mitchell’s farm near Lloydminster, Sask.

“The donation of these meteorite fragments to the RSM and the research that can be done on them will expand our understanding of the history of the universe,” RSM Director Harold Bryant said.

“Meteors leave grownups in awe and shooting stars capture our children’s imaginations,” Parks, Culture and Sport Minister Kevin Doherty said.  “I think this very cool exhibit reminds us of that excitement, while teaching the science behind these extraterrestrial events.  Once again, the RSM engages us, helps us learn about our world and contributes to our quality of life.”