A bright flash and loud boom witnessed by people in British Columbia on Tuesday night were caused by a meteor passing through the earth’s atmosphere, experts have confirmed. Robert Lunsford from the American Meteor Society described the event as a “fireball,” which refers to a meteor larger and brighter than usual. Typically, meteors are no bigger than a pea, but their high speed can make them visible in the night sky.
According to Lunsford, even a softball-sized meteor can create a flash as bright as a full moon, meeting the criteria for a fireball. He noted that the quick duration of the flash ruled out human-made space debris, confirming that the event was a natural fireball composed of stone, metal, or a combination of both.
Meteorologist and science reporter Johanna Wagstaffe stated that local seismographs detected a spike around 9:10 p.m. PT, indicating the passage of a meteor through the atmosphere. Wagstaffe highlighted that meteor sightings are rare in western North America, making the event significant for observers. She explained that the sonic boom accompanying the meteor is generated as it travels through the upper atmosphere at high speeds, compressing and heating the air in front of it.
NASA corroborated reports of the meteor, stating that it appeared over the Pacific Northwest shortly after 9 p.m. NASA confirmed that the meteor was visible about 98 kilometers above Coquitlam, moving at a speed of approximately 33 kilometers per second. The meteor traveled about 71 kilometers through the upper atmosphere before disintegrating at an altitude of around 65 kilometers above Greenmantle Mountain in Garibaldi Provincial Park.
Astronomy professor Brett Gladman from the University of British Columbia mentioned that observers reported seeing the fireball from as far as Comox, Merritt, and Seattle, indicating its wide visibility. He suggested that the fireball likely resulted from a rocky asteroid fragment entering the earth’s atmosphere, causing the glowing appearance and sonic boom due to its supersonic speed. Gladman added that if any fragments survived the descent, locating them in the rugged terrain north of Coquitlam would be extremely challenging.