Fireball lights up Toronto night sky, meteor becomes 6th to be detected pre-impact
Posted November 19, 2022 8:55 pm.
Last Updated November 19, 2022 11:29 pm.
Residents in Toronto and surrounding regions were treated to the sight of a large fireball streaking across the night sky early Saturday as a meteor burned up in the atmosphere.
Footage sent to CityNews by viewers showed the approximately one-metre meteor streaking across the sky for several seconds just before 3:30 a.m.
According to posts on the European Space Agency mission operations Twitter account, the object temporarily designated as C8FF042 struck the earth over Niagara Falls and it became a “safe fireball.”
RELATED: GTA residents report meteor sighting following ‘fireball’ across sky
The agency said it was just the sixth time in history that asteroid warning systems across the globe detected it pre-impact, and triggering alerts to planetary defence specialists.
Staff at the European Space Agency said while it’s only the sixth time, “this capability is rapidly improving.”
As of Saturday evening, the Canadian Space Agency didn’t release information on its social media accounts.
Meanwhile, residents in the Greater Toronto Area reported seeing another meteor heading east across the sky after 10 p.m. on Saturday.
~1-m space object – temporary designation #C8FF042 – strikes Earth over Canada, creating stunning #fireball☄️
For only the 6th time in history, this impact was predicted.
Find out more about predicting #asteroid impacts from the last time this happened ????https://t.co/zwPKXeUEUl https://t.co/XbDqtiDuom pic.twitter.com/5yHGWibSki
— ESA Operations (@esaoperations) November 19, 2022
A <1m object has struck????in the skies above Niagara Falls, becoming a safe #fireball. For just the 6th time, global #asteroid warning systems saw it pre impact, alerting #PlanetaryDefence experts where & when. 'Only' 6x, but this capability is rapidly improving#AsteroidImpact☄️ https://t.co/PMZi5f0m9q
— ESA Operations (@esaoperations) November 19, 2022
