'Fireball' meteor lights up Calgary's sky

Some Calgary residents caught what appeared to be a meteor streaking across the sky early on Wednesday morning.

Multiple CTV News viewers sent in video that showed a light moving through the sky above the city just after 6:30 a.m.

A bright flash is seen, illuminating the night sky, before it faded back into darkness, disappearing from view.

Robyn Foret, the president of the Calgary Centre of the Royal Astronomical Society of Canada, said after reviewing the videos of the event, they can confirm it was a fireball meteor.

“We happen to be in the midst of the Southern Taurids and Northern Taurids meteor showers,” Foret said, in an emailed statement.

“They do overlap going from Sept. 23 to Dec. 8 this year, and while they don’t have a high count of meteors per hour, they are known as being rich in fireballs. It’s likely that is what we saw this morning.”

Shannon Bibe caught a video of the event on her backyard camera at her home in the community of Richmond. Bibe said she did not see the fireball firsthand, but this is the first time she’s captured an event like this on her camera.

A fireball lights up the night sky above Calgary on Nov. 13, 2024. (Courtesy: Shannon Bibe)

The Walia family also sent in a shot of the meteor – describing it as a “fireball” – which could be seen facing south in the city from their home in the northwest.

They said they checked their home’s camera after hearing about a possible meteor sighting on the news.

A fireball lights up the night sky above Calgary on Nov. 13, 2024. (Courtesy: Manjot S Walia)

The American Meteor Society said it received 141 total reports of a fireball seen over Alberta, British Columbia and Saskatchewan, along with several northern states.