Fireball Lights Up the Sky in Southern Ontario (February 26 2021)

Did you see the fireball on Friday February 26 2021 at approximately 10:07pm? Perhaps you unknownly captured it on a security camera.

Thank you to Keely K and Jamie H who alerted us to the fireball and everyone who responded to our initial post and sent us videos.

Below is a compilation of some of the videos that our community members sent in to us:

This is a compilation of videos sent in by community members of the fireball that was observed in Southern Ontario on Friday February 26 2021 at around 10:07pm.

You can report fireball observations (and also send in videos if you have them) to the American Meteor Society (AMS) or it’s partner the International Meteor Organization (IMO). The reports not only alert them to potentially scientifically significant events, they also add to the database of knowledge about meteors.

Almost 300 reports (to date) of this bright fireball have been submitted from observers in Ontario, Michigan, New York, Ohio and Pennsylvania. It was also captured on cameras from the NASA Fireball Network and the Southern Ontario Meteor Network (Western). NASA Meteor Watch says that the first analysis indicates that the meteor appeared 90 km above Erieau on the northern shore of Lake Erie and then moved northwest at a speed of 105,800 kilometers per hour, crossing the U.S./Canada border before ablating 32 kilometers above Fair Haven, Michigan.

Bright fireball over southern Ontario around 10 PM local time Observers in Ontario, Michigan, New York, Ohio and...

Posted by NASA Meteor Watch on Friday, February 26, 2021

NASA Meteor Watch also says that the orbit suggests that the meteor is from a fragment of a Jupiter family comet, though it is possible that it is also asteroidal in origin.

There are many reports that the fireball appeared green from our community members and you can see that does look green in this screenshot from Mike L‘s video.

Screen capture from video from Mike L

The fireball was as bright as the quarter Moon and with the estimated speed NASA Meteor Watch says that the fragment had a mass of at least 2 kilograms and a diameter of approximately 12 centimeters.

Thank you to Larry M from WIndsor for sending us this unique video showing the fireball’s reflection on this vehicle. Even if your security cameras don’t point up towards the sky you may still have captured this special event.

Alberta, Saskatchewan and British Columbia were also treated to a fireball earlier this week.