For the First Time Ever, A Meteorite Strike Was Recorded On Video and Audio

For what may be the first time in history, a meteorite has been recorded on both video and audio as it struck Earth, just outside a man’s home.

Joe Velaidum, from Marshfield, Prince Edward Island, Canada, was outside his house last July, preparing for a walk with his dog. If he had stayed just a bit longer, he might have been the second person ever confirmed to be struck by a meteorite.

“It is surreal to think about just rare and how close this encounter was. I was standing right at the point of impact, just minutes prior,” Velaidum told Compass Media.

“My partner Laura and I decided to take the dogs for a quick walk. There was nothing unusual about that at all. Except that I stopped on the walkway to move a dog leash because the landscapers were scheduled to come and mow the lawn later that day, and the dog leash was on the grass. So I thought I would help. I never stop in that spot.”

“In retrospect, if I had stayed in that exact spot for just a minute or two longer, I would certainly have been hit by a meteor and probably would have been killed. So, when I was innocently moving that dog lead, a meteor was hurling towards me.”

Luckily, Velaidum and his dogs were out of the area when the meteorite struck. He only realized something unusual had happened after returning from his walk to discover strange dark debris on the ground. Reviewing footage from his door camera, he was astonished to find it captured the moment the debris fell—a meteorite impact. Remarkably, several video frames before the impact show the meteorite falling to Earth.

Encouraged by Laura’s father to investigate further, Velaidum carefully collected samples of the debris and sent approximately 7 grams (0.24 ounces) to Chris Herd, curator of the University of Alberta’s meteorite collection.

Although Earth is constantly bombarded by around 44,000 kilograms (48.5 tons) of meteoritic material daily, most of it burns up harmlessly in the atmosphere. Some fragments, however, make it to the surface, where scientists can analyze their composition. Herd’s analysis of the samples, along with additional material he and Velaidum gathered, identified the meteorite as a chondrite—some of the oldest rocks formed during the Solar System’s infancy.

“It’s mind blowing to think that this hunk or rock travelled hundreds of millions of miles and landed on our front doorstep where I was standing, exactly, a few minutes prior,” Velaidum added.

While chondrites are the most common type of meteorite, this incident is extraordinarily rare. Why? It might be the only time a meteorite impact has been captured on both video and audio.

“It’s not anything we’ve ever heard before,” Herd told CBC News. “From a science perspective, it’s new.”

“No other meteorite fall has been documented like this, complete with sound,” he added in a University of Alberta statement. “It adds a whole new dimension to the natural history of the Island.”

Herd estimates the meteorite entered the atmosphere traveling at approximately 60,000 kilometers per hour (37,282 miles per hour) before slowing to a terminal velocity of about 200 kilometers per hour (124 miles per hour) upon impact. Fortunately for Velaidum, the impact occurred just minutes after he had left the area.


READ MORE: What is the Difference Between an Asteroid, a Meteor and a Meteorite?


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