In July 2024, a home security camera in Charlottetown, Prince Edward Island, Canada, captured rare video and sound of a meteorite striking Earth. According to meteorite experts, the event is likely the first and only time the sound of a meteorite hitting our planet has ever been recorded.
A meteorite is a solid piece of debris from an object, such as a comet, asteroid, or meteoroid, that originates in outer space and survives its passage through the atmosphere to reach the surface of a planet or a moon.
When the object enters the atmosphere, various factors like friction, pressure, and chemical interactions with the atmospheric gases cause it to heat up and radiate that energy. It then becomes a meteor and forms a fireball, also known as a shooting star or falling star.
Most meteorites disintegrate when entering the Earth’s atmosphere; usually, five to ten a year are observed to fall and are subsequently recovered and made known to scientists.
“The event in the summer of 2024 is likely the first and only time the sound of a meteorite hitting the Earth has ever been recorded,” said researchers from the University of Alberta.
After becoming curious about the dust in front of their home in July 2024, homeowners in Charlottetown, Prince Edward Island, Canada, checked their security camera footage.
They noticed an astonishing sight — the exact moment a rock came out of nowhere and landed on the path, scattering gray dust and fragments across the walk and grass.
The rock can only be seen in one frame of the video, which indicates rapid movement, but the exploding dust and sound of the impact was undeniable. It clearly came from the sky and appeared to be a meteorite.
The homeowners recovered about 7 grams of the rock from the grass next to the walkway, returning to pick up more samples in the coming days using a vacuum and magnet.
The fragments of the Charlottetown meteorite. Image credit: University of Alberta Meteorite Collection.
Upon examination of photos of the fragments, University of Alberta’s Professor Chris Herd confirmed the discovery was, in fact, a meteorite.
The scientist documented the meteorite fragments, measured a 2 x 2 cm divot in the walkway formed by the meteorite’s impact.
He also recovered a subset of the fragments to become part of the University of Alberta Meteorite Collection.
Named Charlottetown meteorite, the space rock is an ordinary chondrite with features that help to explain why it broke apart as it hit the ground.
“As the first and only meteorite from the province of Prince Edward Island, the Charlottetown meteorite sure announced its arrival in a spectacular way,” Professor Herd said.
“No other meteorite fall has been documented like this, complete with sound.”
“It adds a whole new dimension to the natural history of the Island.”
