A rare meteorite strike occurred in Prince Edward Island, Canada, when a rock from space pummeled a walkway, exactly where a man named Joe Velaidum had briefly stopped to pick up a stray leash. The incident was captured on a Ring doorbell camera and confirmed by the University of Alberta’s Meteorite Collection.
The meteorite, named “Charlottetown,” is an ordinary chondrite, a common type of space rock that comes from broken pieces off asteroids in the asteroid belt between Mars and Jupiter. It fell to Earth on July 25 at 5:02 p.m., and its arrival was confirmed by lab analysis.
The meteorite’s arrival is remarkable because it was captured on video with recorded sound, providing scientists with a unique opportunity to study the physical properties of the rock. Dr. Chris Herd, a professor of Earth and atmospheric sciences at the University of Alberta, curated the specimen and said that the footage can benefit science by analyzing the speed and sound of the meteorite’s fall.
The coincidence of Velaidum being struck by the object if he had arrived just a few minutes earlier makes the incident special. Herd happened to have a family vacation planned on the island about 10 days after the incident, allowing him to retrieve the specimen in person. The discovery has added to the University of Alberta’s Meteorite Collection, which houses over 1,800 specimens.
Herd emphasized that sorting meteorites from earthly objects is crucial, as it provides information about our universe that rocks on Earth cannot offer. “Everything on Earth is newer because of geology and active processes,” he said.
Source: https://edition.cnn.com/2025/01/22/science/meteorite-strike-doorbell-camera/index.html