LONDON, Ont. - Astronomers from Western University are seeking the public's help to find meteorites that may have crashed near St. Thomas, Ont.
Researchers say a basketball-sized meteor that was almost as bright as the full moon lit up the skies of southwestern Ontario this week.
Western astronomers are now hoping for help from local residents in recovering one or more possible meteorites that may have crashed just north of St. Thomas.
Western's faculty of science has a network of all-sky cameras in southern Ontario that scan the atmosphere monitoring for meteors.
Peter Brown, who specializes in the study of meteors and meteorites, says that on the evening of March 18 a long-lasting fireball was detected by seven all-sky cameras.
The brilliant fireball started near Port Dover, Ont., at a height of 75 kilometres and moved westward before ending at an altitude of 32 kilometres between Aylmer, Ont., and St. Thomas. One or more meteorites were produced by the slow fireball based on the video records from the cameras.
