Unique Moment Space Rock Strikes Driveway Captured on Camera

A Ring doorbell camera has captured the moment a meteorite hit a driveway in Canada.

Newsweek has contacted the University of Alberta for comment via email.

Why It Matters

According to the University of Alberta, the footage marks the first time the sound of a meteorite hitting Earth has ever been recorded.

What To Know

In July, Joe Velaidum, who lives on Prince Edward Island, a Canadian province in the Gulf of St. Lawrence, noticed a small fragment of space rock on his property after walking his dogs. This week, he shared footage of the rock’s impact with media outlets.

Velaidum returned from walking his dogs to find mysterious dust particles in his driveway. After reviewing his security footage and seeing a rock come flying out of nowhere, he suspected it was a meteorite.

The homeowner sent about 7 grams of the rock to Chris Herd, a curator of the University of Alberta’s meteorite collection and professor in its science faculty, via the university’s Meteorite Reporting System.

Herd confirmed that the rock was a meteorite after visiting the site and collecting more samples. He later concluded that Velaidum’s clip was the first of its kind.

The meteorite likely broke off from an asteroid between Mars and Jupiter, Herd said.

The rock can be seen briefly in only one frame of the video, indicating its speed, the University of Alberta said. A cloud of dust can be seen rising from the ground where the rock falls.

What People Are Saying

In a news release issued by the University of Alberta on Monday, Herd said: “As the first and only meteorite from the province of PEI, the Charlottetown Meteorite sure announced its arrival in a spectacular way. 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.”

He added in a separate statement: “It’s really awesome. It’s actually the first and only meteorite ever found on the Island, and what a way to make that discovery. Every time that this happens, it’s a new sample from space. It’s from the asteroid belt between Mars and Jupiter, so it’s come a long way.”

Velaidum told CBC News: “The shocking thing for me is that I was standing right there a couple of minutes right before this impact. If I’d have seen it, I probably would’ve been standing right there, so it probably would’ve ripped me in half.”

He told CTV News: “We need to be reminded that the lives that we lead are just a small part of this celestial drama that’s so much bigger than we can possibly imagine.”