Canadian fireball update

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I still haven’t heard of any meteorites found from the Canadian fireball the other day, but lots of videos are turning up. The best is probably this one taken by the dashcam of a police car who happened to be facing the right way:


Kinda makes you wonder why we never get good footage of all these bazillions of flying saucers eating our cow recta, doesn’t it?

November 26th, 2008 4:00 PM by Phil Plait in Antiscience, Astronomy, Cool stuff | 82 comments | RSS feed | Trackback >

82 Responses to “Canadian fireball update”

  1. 1.   Michael L Says:

    Wonder what the cops reaction was when he saw that!?

  2. 2.   Jamie Says:

    Isn’t it obvious that the aliens are aware of our cameras and now how to avoid them? Hello.

  3. 3.   IVAN3MAN Says:

    Michael L: “Wonder what the cops reaction was when he saw that!?”

    “That’s unusual for a Thursday evening.”

  4. 4.   dan2 Says:

    There was another possible meteor over British Columbia last night, http://www.cbc.ca/technology/story/2008/11/26/bc-meteor.html Precursors to 2012? I kid, I kid.

  5. 5.   MacRat Says:

    Also the saucers aren’t streaking through the sky on fire..

    Except for that one in Roswell. ;-)

  6. 6.   PeteG Says:

    I’d be terrified if I saw that, especially since I’m reading Death from the Skies!

  7. 7.   quasidog Says:

    Wow, that was awesome. When I was younger I saw a green fireball coming directly at me as I drove home one night from… um I forget where… hehe, but it was nowhere near as impressive as that. I love the way it lit the sky so much at one point it was like daylight.

    On a side note, I wonder with today’s tech being so cheap, why more people don’t have permanent camera’s and a recording box installed in their cars also, if not just for added security. Are there legal issues, or is it just a case (as in mine) that we could not be bothered doing so. I’m sure if we did we might catch more stuff like that more often.

    I wonder if that rock hit the ground?

  8. 8.   Mano Marks Says:

    Simple Phil, you don’t get that footage because THE GOVERNMENT DOESN’T WANT YOU TO. Wait, we are blaming the government this week, right? Or is it the UN? Corporations? I can never remember.

  9. 9.   Davidlpf Says:

    Ever hear of a claoking device, duh.

  10. 10.   Daniel Says:

    The government wouldn’t tell you even if they did. ‘Sigh’ I know i know…the canned response…well there are too many people who would know…Guess what? Everything is compartmentalized on a need to know basis. We the public…DONT NEED TO KNOW, period.

  11. 11.   Davidlpf Says:

    But “The truth is out there” and “Don’t trust anyone”.

  12. 12.   Mark Says:

    @quasidog: I’ve wondered the same, and each time I flip through one of those gizmo catalogs, I’m almost ready to lay down a hundred $ and get me one of those SD card cams (w/ endless loop record feature) to mount to the dashboard. Should make it easy to settle claims of “the light WAS green” in crossroad accidents…
    then again, filming other people isn’t allowed where I live (unless you’re a member of the police) and can cost serious $$$ if someone complains/sues…

  13. 13.   JillSwift Says:

    “flying saucers eating our cow recta”

    … eww!

  14. 14.   spaz Says:

    How big was that?

  15. 15.   ccpetersen Says:

    What kind of aliens would go for cow recta and completely ignore the rest of the cow?

  16. 16.   Davidlpf Says:

    Maybe it is the last ingredient they need to make a hotdog.

  17. 17.   Tom Cochrane Says:

    So, um… here we go again?

    CBC reports that there is ANOTHER possible meteor sighting in Western Canada. We’ll see how this turns out.

    http://www.cbc.ca/canada/british-columbia/story/2008/11/26/bc-meteor.html?ref=rss

    Those guys out west have all the fun…

  18. 18.   Some Canadian Skeptic Says:

    Come on, Phil. You know perfectly well that Canadian Police cars only point at Cow’s rectums for 40 minutes of the day.

  19. 19.   Michael L Says:

    Alberta is know for really good beef… that’s the reason aliens go there! I’ve never had Alberta Cow Recta though…

  20. 20.   Michael L Says:

    I just saw a report from Global Edmonton, and they are now saying the search is focusing on the town of Marsden, Saskatchewan, which is near the Alberta border, about the mid-point of the province.

  21. 21.   Gary Ansorge Says:

    Here’s a link to a recent article about the Ten Ton (estimated) meteorite that fell in canada. I wonder how they came up with that estimate? Some scientists are searching for ground remants now.

    GAry 7

    http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2008-11/uoc-msu112508.php

  22. 22.   Gary Ansorge Says:

    PS: It’s from the University of Calgary,,,

    GAry 7

  23. 23.   Dave Hall Says:

    Never had Cow Recta??

    Ever had an all-beef hot dog?

  24. 24.   Michael L Says:

    @Dave Hall:
    No, but I love Corn Dogs.

  25. 25.   Andrew Says:

    Perhaps I read a bit too much sci-fi and Plait, but my first reaction on seeing something like that would be to get the hell out of the car, run for the nearest cover, and pray to the Flying Spaghetti Monster that I’m far enough from ground zero.

  26. 26.   Levi Says:

    Very cool!

    Kinda makes me wish we had video footage of the Chicxulub meteorite coming down.

  27. 27.   Davidlpf Says:

    Would cow recta coming from around Calgary be called flaming cow recta.

  28. 28.   kuhnigget Says:

    As I commented in Dr. BA’s original post on this event, I think this is an excellent teaching opportunity for our friends the UFO nutters.

    Before it goes behind the clouds, the meteor sort of looks like it’s coming right at us. Because it’s gaining in brilliance as it descends, it creates the illusion of getting bigger. Now, picture that out in the middle of West Rectum, Arizona on a clear night. It’s easy to see how someone might get confused and think they’re in the path of something making an amazingly abrupt turn and then heading right at them.

  29. 29.   Andromeda Says:

    andrew- you have been touched by His Noodly Appendage! RAmen.

  30. 30.   Michael L Says:

    @Davidlpf:
    Cow recta from Calgary… no that would be Red Neck Recta.

    kuhnigget:
    West Rectum, AZ… slightly south of Uranus, Nevada?

  31. 31.   CLM Says:

    Kinda makes you wonder why we never get good footage of all these bazillions of flying saucers eating our cow recta, doesn’t it?

    There you go again. Injecting logic and evidence into a discussion.

  32. 32.   Dan Says:

    Unfortunately I didn’t have a camera but I saw a pretty good fireball heading up I-95 North around Quantico yesterday around 8:45-8:50. It was pretty cool, except that I nearly rear-ended the guy in front of me because I was looking at the damn space-rock and not the road.

  33. 33.   NiteSkyGirl Says:

    As an astronomer in Canada I have been following this story through the canadian observatories and astronomers for updates. Thought Phil’s readers would like to see the video of the toolbox being filmed going thru the night sky.

    Kevin Fetter an amateur astronomer of brockville ontario filmed it. Thru his telescope .
    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NJF8m0KbDZQ

    His Website

    http://ca.geocities.com/kfetter/

  34. 34.   Whomever1 Says:

    How big would this thing have to be to be detected with seismographs?

  35. 35.   Alan Haggard Says:

    Well if you look hard enough (at the evidence) rather than dismissing it automatically and refusing to even watch any of the most credible footage of UFO’s shot to date, you just might find what you’re looking for (or are refusing to acknowledge, whichever the case may be).

  36. 36.   Dave Hall Says:

    Michael L Says:
    “No, but I love Corn Dogs.”

    I am NOT touching that line . . .

  37. 37.   kuhnigget Says:

    @ Alan Haggard:

    The “most credible footage of UFO’s (sic) shot to date”…. um, which evidence would that be, perchance? The hubcaps orbiting shrubs, or the streetlamps buzzing the boulevard?

    No, really, I’m trying to take you seriously, but…what credible evidence would that be?

  38. 38.   csrster Says:

    … which reminds me that I saw a pretty meteor two nights ago in Cygnus while I was out testing my new ultra-cheap binoculars that I bought to replace the expensive ones the kids destroyed. It was nothing fancy – probably just about first magnitude. It didn’t brighten up much of East Jutland and wouldn’t have made the headlines in even the most remote parts of Canada. But it brightened up my evening.

  39. 39.   MaW Says:

    I have a general rule of believing people who can spell over people who can’t.

    Nice fireball. Maybe the aliens need the cow rectum as part of their methane-generating machinery with which they power their spacecraft? Interstellar flight presumably requires a lot of fuel, but fusion reactors and antimatter aren’t as much fun.

  40. 40.   Lugosi Says:

    WOW!!!!! TRUECHRISTIAN certainly made me into a believer! Good grammar and basic second grade spelling abilities are strictly for atheistic losers.

    Anyway, unrelated to this post or The Good Book, I just stumbled across a trailer for a movie called “2012.” Not a whole lot in the way of clues, but I’m guessing it has something to do with the Mayan calendar fuss.

  41. 41.   tony J Says:

    Wow, there can’t be that many people around who would fail to spell the word ‘you.’ I would also question the consistency of using the the word ‘freaking’ as a substitute for an expletive in the same tract that contains the charming phrase ‘dumb ass fuk nut.’…..illucid at best.

    Nice footage, rare to get, looks like it may have hit the ground.

  42. 42.   quasidog Says:

    @TRUECHRISTIAN … way to defend God .. with your swearing and aggression, bigotry and name calling. Keep it up. I’m sure you are convincing everyone. :/ *sarcasm + * … who are you even attacking, and why ? Calm down. There is absolutely no need to act that way. One could say, you are being very .. un-Christian. Irony?

  43. 43.   Utakata Says:

    @TRUECHRISTIAN …way to defend God with horrible spelling.

  44. 44.   Rev. I. P. Freeley Says:

    Matthew 24:11 And many false prophets shall rise, and shall deceive many.

  45. 45.   TheWalruss Says:

    @TRUECHRISTIAN: lol wut?

    @Alan Haggard: Link plz.

  46. 46.   tony J Says:

    @TRUECHRISTIAN
    this web site should clear things up Clicky: http://www.landoverbaptist.org/

  47. 47.   tony J Says:

    Hmm, hope you don’t mind the link Phil, I’m not a spammer ,honest.

  48. 48.   T.phillips Says:

    come on, TRUECHRISTIAN. At least make an attempt to be convincing when you troll.

  49. 49.   Michael L Says:

    @Dave Hall… No No, corn dogs are breaded wieners on a stick served at 7-11… Oh never mind…

  50. 50.   BigLee Says:

    I took my daughter out to watch the Perseids last year and and we saw a bright greenish fireball. Fantastic fun.

  51. 51.   Michelle Says:

    PS: TrueChristians, you sinned. You’re going to hell.

    Oh, did you guys see the paranoid dude in the youtube comments? THE GOVERNMENT ISN’T TALKING! CLEARLY, THAT METEORITE IS A CONSPIRACY!

    heeheehee…

  52. 52.   CafeenMan Says:

    Why are Canadians launching missiles at themselves???

  53. 53.   quasidog Says:

    They are probably practicing for when USA does it to them. *hides* Well … they do it to everyone else right ?

  54. 54.   quasidog Says:

    LOL @ TRUECHRISTIAN ….. are you high ?

  55. 55.   quasidog Says:

    ….”Last night, while I was sitting on my front-porch swing, gazing up at Heaven, President Bush appeared to me in a vision.”………. that is a classic LOL … I’m sure I heard that on ‘South Park’.

  56. 56.   MaDeR Says:

    Ookay, this TRUECRISTIAN should be deleted by Phil. Just another troll.

  57. 57.   quasidog Says:

    yeah but MaDeR…. comedy factor ! … that has to count for something. I haven’t laughed so hard in days.

  58. 58.   Gary Ansorge Says:

    There is no comedy factor to a Troll to lazy to modify his spam. That’s the same piece of waste he’s posted three times before this one.

    Gary 7

  59. 59.   tony J Says:

    And the sign reads: No Not Feed The Trols

  60. 60.   kuhnigget Says:

    You guys realize that’s some preteen walking zit-cream billboard trying to provoke reactions, right? Ignore it.

    Instead, focus vicious sarcasm on UFO nutters who can’t produce evidence! (Snicker! Snort!)

  61. 61.   Jason Says:

    Researchers from the University of Alberta apparently found the the impact crater about 200 km west of Edmonton, according to this morning’s news.

  62. 62.   Lazze Says:

    Just a thought, but is it possible to conclude anything about the composition of the meteorite from the color of the fireball? Or is the color only an effect of the atmospheric composition?

    On a sidenote; I saw a bright fireball 7 years ago – in daylight. Well – allmost. I saw in in the western sky at sunset, so it had to be pretty bright to be visible. It was bright green and broke up in 4 or 5 pieces before it vanished. It’s doubtfull that any debris could be found though, as it occured over the North Sea, and my guess is that it could have been at a distance of 100km or more.

  63. 63.   Davidlpf Says:

    This thread was such a nice thread about cow recta but now a troll just had to ruin it.

  64. 64.   Andy Beaton Says:

    How could you tell the difference between a 10 ton meteor burning up in the upper atmosphere and a 10 ton flying saucer burning up in the upper atmosphere? I guess the only evidence I can come up with for the meteor is the fact that it burned up while passing over Alberta, thus missing out on Canada’s highest concentration of cow parts.

  65. 65.   CafeenMan Says:

    Anybody have the link for that site with hot alien on cow action?

  66. 66.   undercover Says:

    That’s like ultra cool!

    I hope that the meteor is the real one not a fake CGI!

  67. 67.   Jennifer Hoffman Says:

    Now THAT is cool.

  68. 68.   Chew Says:

    @Andy Beaton “How could you tell the difference between a 10 ton meteor burning up in the upper atmosphere and a 10 ton flying saucer burning up in the upper atmosphere?”

    Simple. Flying Saucers don’t burn up in the atmopshere. They are indestructible. Remember the Roswell UFO crash debris that couldn’t be damaged by a sledgehammer? Wait a second… if the debris couldn’t be damaged by a sledgehammer, how could the UFO break apart into pieces?
    [cognitive dissonance] Ah! I got it! UFO’s are only indestructible after they crash![/cognitive dissonance]

  69. 69.   kuhnigget Says:

    @ Chew (gesundheit)

    Silly skeptic! Of course the Roswell debris only gained its indestructability after it crashed! That’s so the space aliens’ Secrets o’ the Universe ™ wouldn’t fall into the hands of the evil conspiracy! Sheesh, everyone knows that.

  70. 70.   Dave Hall Says:

    “Michael L Says:
    @Dave Hall… No No, corn dogs are breaded wieners on a stick served at 7-11… Oh never mind…”
    Sorry–that was just my mind on too much caffein. I am rather partial to ‘em myself. Especially here in Spokane where we have a locally made German Sausage as the dog.

  71. 71.   Dan Says:

    @ TRUECHRISTIAN

    Seriously? You’re linking to LandOver Baptist? The most well know PARODY christian site on the internet?

    I seriously hope you don’t expect us to fall for that crap. That site is well known to be a parody of the most psychotic elements of the Christian Right. There’s even a DISCLAIMER on the site.

  72. 72.   tony J Says:

    Dan, I linked to that site, not @TRUECHRISTIAN,
    just to clear things up.
    It was an observation on my part of the nature of @TRUECHRISTIAN’s posts.

  73. 73.   Brad Says:

    # Jason Says:
    Researchers from the University of Alberta apparently
    found the the impact crater about 200 km west of Edmonton,
    according to this morning’s news.

    Nope, that is a newly-confirmed but not recent (~1100 year old) crater. Very cool discovery – they used lidar to look thru the trees and image the circular feature. it is 36 meters in diameter and 6 meters deep, in forest – not highly visible from the air or satellite.

    http://easweb.eas.ualberta.ca/crater

  74. 74.   Chew Says:

    @Brad: That LiDAR image is sooooo cool! One has to wonder why the entire Earth hasn’t beened searched using this technology. That info could help refine the probability of death by meteoric impact.

  75. 75.   CanadianLeigh Says:

    @Cafeenman; We Canadians cannot afford missles that can fly past our borders. Like during the cold war when the Americans wanted our navy to scout ahead of them. They figured we would be safe as the Russians never developed a rust seeking missle.

  76. 76.   ccpetersen Says:

    Well, getting this discussion back to cow recta (where it belongs)…

    I was thinking yesterday that when we get First Contact for the first time, and after all the greeting formalities are observed and the First Alien and our Duly Constituted Greeters have finished their formal festivities, perhaps they’ll all retire to a nearby picnic table laden with Earth delicacies. And, our DCG will wave his/her hand toward the table and invite the FC to sample some of our best foods. I imagine the scene something like this:

    Duly Constituted Greeter: ” Can we get you something to eat or drink? ”

    He waves his hand toward the laden table. The First Alien walks over and inspects the plates and bowls and boxes full of everything from hamburgers to pita bread to gyros to sushi, pasta, fresh fish, fruits, vegetables–everything that people eat. It wrinkles its forehead and blinks its three eyes several times and wiggles its protuding eartalons out toward its host in dismay.

    First Alien: “Why yes, thank you. That would be very nice.”

    Earth’s Greeter waves his hand toward the laden table. The First Alien walks over and inspects the plates and bowls and boxes full of everything from hamburgers to pita bread to gyros to sushi, pasta, fresh fish, fruits, vegetables–everything that people eat. It wrinkles its forehead and blinks its three eyes several times and wiggles its protuding eartalons out toward its host in dismay.

    Alien: “Since you now know we’ve been secretly visiting your planet for years, I must tell you that Earth is known throughout this sector of the galaxy for a very particular delicacy. In fact, it’s one of the reasons we’ve decided to reveal ourselves because we’ve noticed that this particular foodstuff is getting harder to find in the wild. It’s really why we came here, although of course, opening up trade with you and supplying our technology is certainly an admirable goal. But, really, we just came for … well… alas, I don’t see it here, unless this is it.”

    The alien picks up a piece of sliced and marinated calamari and sniffs it.

    Alien

    The alien turns to leave, but the First Greeter rises to the occasion, not wishing to mess up this rare chance for intragalactic trade.

    Duly Constituted Greeter:“But… but… just tell us what it is you need and we’ll we’ll get you as much as you need!”

    First Alien: “Well, if it wouldn’t be too much trouble, a few hundred free-range cow recta would be great! “

  77. 77.   ccpetersen Says:

    Well, getting this discussion back to cow recta (where it belongs)…

    I was thinking yesterday that when we get First Contact for the first time, and after all the greeting formalities are observed and the First Alien and our Duly Constituted Greeters have finished their formal festivities, perhaps they’ll all retire to a nearby picnic table laden with Earth delicacies. And, our DCG will wave his/her hand toward the table and invite the FC to sample some of our best foods. I imagine the scene something like this:

    Duly Constituted Greeter: ” Can we get you something to eat or drink? ”

    He waves his hand toward the laden table. The First Alien walks over and inspects the plates and bowls and boxes full of everything from hamburgers to pita bread to gyros to sushi, pasta, fresh fish, fruits, vegetables–everything that people eat. It wrinkles its forehead and blinks its three eyes several times and wiggles its protuding eartalons out toward its host in dismay.

    First Alien: “Why yes, thank you. That would be very nice.”

    Earth’s Greeter waves his hand toward the laden table. The First Alien walks over and inspects the plates and bowls and boxes full of everything from hamburgers to pita bread to gyros to sushi, pasta, fresh fish, fruits, vegetables–everything that people eat. It wrinkles its forehead and blinks its three eyes several times and wiggles its protuding eartalons out toward its host in dismay.

    Alien: “Since you now know we’ve been secretly visiting your planet for years, I must tell you that Earth is known throughout this sector of the galaxy for a very particular delicacy. In fact, it’s one of the reasons we’ve decided to reveal ourselves because we’ve noticed that this particular foodstuff is getting harder to find in the wild. It’s really why we came here, although of course, opening up trade with you and supplying our technology is certainly an admirable goal. But, really, we just came for … well… alas, I don’t see it here, unless this is it.”

    The alien picks up a piece of sliced and marinated calamari and sniffs it.

    Alien No, this isn’t it. But it looks like it… ”

    The alien turns to leave, but the First Greeter rises to the occasion, not wishing to mess up this rare chance for intragalactic trade.

    Duly Constituted Greeter:“But… but… just tell us what it is you need and we’ll we’ll get you as much as you need!”

    First Alien: “Well, if it wouldn’t be too much trouble, a few hundred free-range cow recta would be great! “

  78. 78.   ccpetersen Says:

    Damn… I tried to fix the close bold and screwed up..

    sorry about that double post, folks…

  79. 79.   kuhnigget Says:

    @ ccpetersen:

    That’s okay about the double post…one can never have too many cow recta.

    BTW, can’t help but notice Mr. Haggard has yet to offer up that “credible evidence” for alien spaceships yet. I’m sure it’s just the holiday. Too much turkey, perhaps. Or too many.

  80. 80.   a simon Says:

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  81. 81.   a simon Says:

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  82. 82.   a simon Says:

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