The glowing fireball lit up the sky early Monday morning (photo courtesy of Graham Knutson)
Comet Fragment
Monday fireball a small comet fragment say U of A scientists
Feb 25, 2021 | 4:02 PM
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The mystery of what caused a giant fireball that lit up the sky over much of Alberta earlier this week has been solved.
Scientists at the University of Alberta say calculations using two observation sites show it was a small piece of a comet that burned up in the atmosphere.
Hundreds of people from Calgary to Fort McMurray and Medicine Hat to Grande Prairie reported seeing the bright flash in the sky at about 6:30 a.m on Monday.
Patrick Hill of the Department of Earth and Atmospheric Sciences says the chunk burned up immediately after giving what he describes as a “spectacular flash.”
