NEW YORK (AP) — A doorbell camera installed in a Canadian home captured rare video and audio of a meteorite hitting the Earth as it crashed into a couple’s driveway.
When Laura Kelly and her partner returned home after an evening walk in July, they were surprised to find their driveway littered with dust and strange debrisaccording to the Meteoritical Society, which posted the video with his report.
They checked their security camera and saw something slam against their driveway, producing a cloud of smoke and a crackling sound.
The two men reported what they found to the University of Alberta’s Meteorite Reporting System, and curator Chris Herd examined samples of the debris to confirm their interstellar origins.
Meteorites are pieces of space rock that strike Earth after surviving a trip through its scorching atmosphere. According to NASA, about 48 tons (43,500 kilograms) of similar debris hits Earth every day, but it’s much more likely to land in an ocean than on someone’s front porch.
Space rocks also streak the night sky as shooting stars during meteor showers which happens several times a year.
These images are believed to be a first. Although cameras have captured meteors streaking across the sky, it is rare to capture the sound of a full meteor strike on video.
The space rock, officially registered on Monday, was named Charlottetown after the town on Prince Edward Island in eastern Canada where it struck.
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