Ball of fire over Don Valley Parkway captured on dashcam

Some lucky Torontonians were treated to a light show Thursday.

A dashcam video posted to YouTube shows a bright object streaking across the sky over the Don Valley Parkway.

CityNews viewer Rahsaun Hutchinson was in a park in north Ajax and saw “a bright flying, star-like object” streak across the sky around 10 p.m.

Peter Brown, a professor in the Western Meteor Physics Group at Western University, says such sightings are common this time of year.

Having watched the video, Brown said the object appeared to be a “bright but not spectacular meteor” and likely not large enough to produce meteorites.

“There certainly were some bright meteors over southern Ontario last night,” Brown said. Though he said his team’s cameras and detection equipment did not pick up this particular sighting.

Brown said there are many active meteor showers, including the Perseids and the Kappa Cygnids, that produce bright meteors over our skies this time of year.

The annual Kappa Cygnids is particularly active this year, he added.

He cautions the sightings are not unusual this time of year, especially with a new moon due Monday, and nothing to fear.

“It’s darker earlier now, and with the warm weather, people should get out and enjoy seeing some bright meteors.”

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