Parry Sound, Ontario, Canada Meteor of March 5, 2008 One Year Ago

Photo by Univ. of Western Ontario, CAO-RASC (c)2008
Parry Sound, Ontario, Canada Meteor--March 5, 2008 at 10:59 p.m. EST

Anyone have any updates concerning meteorite finds from this meteor? Please comment on this post if you have any information. Thank you.

Western astronomers on hunt for meteor
By Communications Staff Friday, March 7, 2008
Astronomers from The University of Western Ontario have captured rare video of a meteor falling to Earth, and are hoping to enlist the help of local residents in recovering one or more possible meteorites that may have crashed in the Parry Sound area.

Map (Zoom)
Map (Full Version 1)
Map (Full Version 2)
Image
Video File (.avi)
Video File (.mov)

The Physics and Astronomy Department at Western has a network of all-sky cameras in Southern Ontario that scan the sky monitoring for meteors. Associate Professor Peter Brown, who specializes in the study of meteors and meteorites, says that Wednesday evening (March 5) at 10:59 p.m. EST these cameras captured video of a large fireball and the department has also received a number of calls and emails from people who actually saw the light. Brown along with Wayne Edwards, a post doctorate student, are now working to get the word out among interested people who may be willing to see if they can spot any fallen meteorites. “Most meteoroids burn up by the time they hit an altitude of 60 or 70 kilometres from Earth," says Edwards. “We tracked this one to an altitude of about 24 kilometres so we are pretty sure there are at least one, and possibly many meteorites, that made it to the ground." Edwards says the lab can narrow the ground location where the meteorite would have fallen, to about 12 square kilometres and have created a map that may assist in locating the meteorite. The rock, or rocks, would probably weigh a kilogram or slightly more. “We would love to find a recovered meteorite on this one, because we have the video and we have the data and by putting that together with the meteorite, there is a lot to be learned." Wayne Edwards is available for interviews and/or to report finds at 519-850-2385. He can also be reached via email at wedwards@uwo.ca If you would like to receive a 14-mb video file of the meteor in avi format, maps or an image, please reply to this email address.

Reply Comment by Mark Langenfeld:
While I have heard nothing further, the linked maps suggest whatever survived may have splashed into Georgian Bay.

Reply Comment by Patrick Herrmann:
Nothing had been recovered from that fall. The stones fell too far out in Georgian Bay, and the ice was too thin to go by snowmobile. Point-au-Baril is what they ended up calling the potential strewn field.I was trying to get a helicopter lined up to go and look for some stones, but then, about a week or so after the fireball, there was another snowstorm, and that was it.