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Vancouver Island Fireball Broke Up Over Pacific, NASA Data Show

NASA data point to a high-altitude ocean breakup, prompting researchers to mine public videos for trajectory details.

Overview

  • A bright fireball crossed Vancouver Island and fragmented high over the Pacific Ocean west of Yuquot, according to analyses by NASA and the American Meteor Society.
  • NASA measured the object at about 29.5 km/s with a final visible altitude near 62 km after a southwest track of roughly 89 km through the upper atmosphere.
  • The American Meteor Society logged 135 reports and 15 videos from across British Columbia, Washington, and Oregon that captured a brief flash and visible break-up.
  • Experts classify the event as a bolide, meaning as bright as the full moon, and say the green hue seen in many clips likely came from oxygen glowing in the superheated air around the meteor.
  • No meteorite recoveries or damage have been confirmed, and with a high-altitude ocean breakup likely, scientists continue to refine the path using public footage as the region sees several such events each year.