A Ring doorbell camera has captured the first-ever video footage of a meteorite striking Earth, with the incident occurring in Prince Edward Island, Canada. Joe Velaidum and his wife Laura had just left their home to take their dog for a walk when the meteorite hit the ground near their front door on July 25, 2024.
According to Velaidum, he was standing in that spot just minutes before the impact, and if he had stayed there or taken more time walking, he would have been hit. However, the sudden appearance of black rocks on the walkway allowed him to move away from the area.
The video footage, which shows the meteorite’s trajectory and explosion, has been verified by Chris Herd, a renowned meteor specialist from the University of Alberta. Herd analyzed fragments from the impact site and confirmed that they came from an ordinary chondrite, a type of space rock that commonly strikes Earth.
“It’s surreal to think about how rare this encounter is,” Velaidum said. “I was standing right at the point of impact just minutes before.” The meteorite, which has been named the Charlottetown Meteorite, is believed to have originated in the asteroid belt between Mars and Jupiter.
This discovery marks a significant event in the scientific community, with Herd stating that it’s the first time both the sights and sounds of a meteorite impact have been captured on video. The incident serves as a reminder of the awe-inspiring vastness of space and the unexpected nature of celestial events.
Source: https://petapixel.com/2025/01/15/sound-of-a-meteorite-striking-the-ground-has-been-captured-for-the-first-time