Canadian Home Security Camera Captures Incredible Meteorite Strike!

Pieces of a meteorite that struck a residence on Prince Edward Island, Canada, in July 2024.

University of Alberta Meteorite Collection

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University of Alberta Meteorite Collection

When Joe Velaidum and his companion Laura Kelly went outside on a July afternoon to walk their dogs in Prince Edward Island, Canada, he was not anticipating returning home to an otherworldly surprise.

“We were shocked to discover the path strewn with debris. Rocks were scattered all around. At first, we had no clue what had caused it,” Velaidum recounts to NPR.

Initially, Velaidum assumed it was something that had fallen from the roof and started to clear the gray, powdery substance. Kelly’s parents, residing nearby, informed them that they had heard a loud noise. They proposed it could have been a meteorite impact.

Velaidum reviewed his home security recordings and realized they were correct.

The meteorite strike is considered to be the first instance of the complete audio of a meteorite impacting Earth being captured on video, according to one specialist.

“I have heard of other instances where sound has been recorded, but nothing quite like this: Where you observe the rock collide with the ground, shatter and then hear the sound simultaneously,” Chris Herd, professor and curator of the meteorite collection at the University of Alberta in Edmonton, Canada, shares with NPR.

Velaidum expresses that he was fortunate: Just moments prior, he had been positioned where the meteorite crashed onto a brick path.

Particles from a meteorite that impacted a residence on Prince Edward Island, Canada, in July 2024.

Via University of Alberta Meteorite Collection

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Via University of Alberta Meteorite Collection

“Had I remained in that very location for just a minute or two longer, I would have certainly been struck and likely killed by this meteorite,” he states, adding that it impacted the ground with “incredible force” and created a small indentation in the path.

Meteors enter the atmosphere at velocities ranging from 25,000 mph to 160,000 mph, according to the American Meteor Society.

Velaidum reported the occurrence to the University of Alberta’s Meteorite Reporting System, and Herd collected debris samples for analysis, which confirmed it was indeed a meteorite impact.

A ‘bumpy journey’ through the cosmos

The meteorite — which Herd estimated to be between the size of a golf ball and a baseball — is classified as an ordinary chondrite, one of the most prevalent types of meteorites that collide with Earth. They consist of chondrules, or tiny, spherical grains of silicate minerals such as olivine and pyroxene. Herd suspects the meteorite that impacted Velaidum’s property originated from an asteroid belt positioned between Mars and Jupiter.

The meteorite soared through the frigid expanse of space at thousands of miles per hour and endured extreme temperatures while passing through Earth’s atmosphere, likely breaking apart during the “bumpy journey,” Herd notes.

Each day, at least 48 tons of meteorite-like material descend to the Earth, as noted by NASA. While the odds of any of that material striking a human are minimal, there have been other close calls in history. Meteorites are more prone to land in bodies of water, as it constitutes 71% of the Earth’s surface, Herd indicates.

Velaidum mentions that the event initially made him wary, leading him to look up each time he stepped outside. However, after reflecting on it, the encounter prompted him to reassess his priorities and what truly matters in life, he states.

“We often perceive our lives as tremendously significant when we fill them with our egos, yet there are these cosmic occurrences that utterly overshadow our trivial concerns,” he shares. “This event is rather small in the grand cosmic context, but it has been such an eye-opener.”