The man had no idea that the footage captured by his security camera would be recognized by experts as an unbelievable moment.
Roger Rempel, a resident of Winnipeg, Canada, posted two videos on his Twitter that recorded the sight of meteors falling to Earth just days apart. Everything would seem normal if it weren’t for an astronomer from the museum commenting that the moments captured in the videos could only be seen “once in a thousand years.” Why is that?
One of the two videos showing a meteor falling to Earth. (Source: Roger Rempel)
On March 22, 2022, a meteor the size of a basketball fell in Canada. Witnesses reported that the meteor fell from the night sky around 2:46 AM (local time), creating a fireball visible in Manitoba, Ontario, and Saskatchewan. Two days later, residents in these areas witnessed another meteor fall. Some people in North Dakota, USA, could also see this event. The American Meteor Society (AMS) reported that it had received reports from 95 individuals regarding the incident.
In Rempel’s two videos, a bright streak of light shot across the sky towards the ground before disappearing. Rempel stated that his security cameras captured this image. He later received notifications from the cameras and discovered these rare moments, prompting him to save them.
In just a few days, two meteors fell in Canada. (Photo: Winnipeg)
He also mentioned that he had never seen anything like this before. Rempel said: “It’s fascinating to see that my security camera recorded meteors flying across the sky twice.”
Scott Young, a planetary astronomer at the Manitoba Museum, responded in an interview with News Winnipeg, stating: “Seeing meteors pass through the same area just days apart is incredibly rare. The odds are even lower than winning the lottery“.
Since the meteors fell just one day apart, he has not determined whether there is any connection between them or if it is merely a coincidence. He also believes that remnants of the meteors have fallen to the ground.
An astronomy expert noted that it is very rare for two meteors to fall in the same area within a few days. (Photo: Winnipeg)
Young further added: “These objects are very special in terms of brightness and size as they are larger than most ordinary meteors. Each bolide meteor can be as large as a basketball. It is difficult to determine clearly until we analyze all the videos.”
According to Young’s assessment, both of these objects appear to be bolides, which are rare versions that are typically larger and brighter than ordinary meteors. Several bolide meteors fall to Earth each day, but most go unobserved because they fall over the ocean or are obscured by clouds.
Several bolide meteors fall to Earth every day, but most go unobserved as they fall over the ocean or are obscured by clouds. (Photo: NASA).
“There are two possibilities: either meteor fragments landed from one of the two falls, or they disintegrated while passing through the atmosphere. That’s why the videos capturing these moments are very helpful. They help us determine the trajectory as well as narrow down the search area. Moreover, there is no way to predict when a meteor will fall, so people should consider themselves lucky if they see them,” Young said.
