Meteorite captured on film: Rare sound recorded in Canada

In July 2024, a Ring camera installed in front of Joe Velaidum and Laura Kelly's home in Charlottetown captured the moment a meteorite shattered on the pavement in front of the entrance. The recording includes the distinct sound of the cosmic rock striking the ground. Geologist Chris Herd from the University of Alberta, who studied fragments of this object, admits this may be the first time the sound of a falling meteorite has been documented.

"As the first and only meteorite from the province of PEI, the Charlottetown Meteorite sure announced its arrival in a spectacular way. No other meteorite fall has been documented like this, complete with sound," said Herd, quoted by Science Alert.

The owners were out walking their dogs when the meteorite fell. Upon returning, they found a small mess on the pavement, and neighbours mentioned a loud noise. Only after reviewing the camera footage did Velaidum and Kelly realise that an extraordinary event had occurred right in front of their house.

"The shocking thing for me is that I was standing right there a couple of minutes right before this impact," Velaidum told CBC News. "If I'd have seen it, I probably would've been standing right there, so it probably would've ripped me in half."

Science Alert reminds us that about 49 metric tonnes of cosmic material enter Earth's atmosphere daily, but most of it burns up before reaching the surface. Meteorite falls capable of surviving atmospheric entry are rare; most land in oceans.

In the case of the Charlottetown meteorite, research showed that it belonged to the class of ordinary chondrites. These most commonly found meteorites account for about 90% of all such objects discovered. Chondrites are incredibly valuable to science, as they contain materials from billions of years ago, from the time of the formation of the Solar System.