Numerous Calgarians took to social media on Monday evening to report seeing a possible meteorite streak through the night sky at around 11 p.m.
Speaking with Global News on Tuesday, James Durbano from the Big Sky Observatory said the light was from a very bright meteor, called a fireball.
“A meteor is the name given to a piece of rock from space that is streaking through the earth’s atmosphere, lighting up the sky. A fireball is the name given to a very bright meteor.”
“It definitely was a fireball and it probably would have been about the size of a baseball or bigger.”
WATCH: Big Sky Observatory astronomer and director James Durbano joins Global News to discuss what we likely saw over the night sky on Monday.
Angela Anderson spotted the bright light from the home office in her Coventry Hills house.
“My window faces west … and all of a sudden this massive fireball comes through the sky,” she explained. “I freaked out.”
“I ran and I got my husband,” she said. “He thought I was crazy.”
“It freaked us out completely.”
“The first part of it was really, really light white – like a star – and the back was like it was on fire, like red. And then when it dropped, it looked green,” she added.
“I’ve seen falling stars and I’ve seen things fall out of the sky, but I’ve never in my life witnessed something like this before. It looked like it was right over the houses.”
Durbano said it’s not uncommon for people seeing a fireball to think it’s closer than it actually is.
“It’s so bright, everyone thinks it’s just a few miles away, but in actuality it could be hundreds of miles, hundreds of kilometres away.”
Did you capture photos or video of the fireball in southern Alberta? If so, email them to calgary@globalnews.ca with your contact information and we may use them on air or online.
The fireball wasn’t just spotted in Calgary; people from across southern Alberta and British Columbia reported seeing it.
The American Meteor Society estimates the fireball “terminated” east of Cranbrook.
WATCH: Compilation of videos posted to social media capture bright flash in skies over BC.
– With files from Dallas Flexhaug