# Meteor strike in Canada **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [November 21, 2008, 4:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/meteor-strike-in-canada/473783 "2008-11-21T04:17:56Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Leaffan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/leaffan/32/299_2.png) [@Leaffan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Leaffan)\ **Post date:** [November 21, 2008, 3:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/meteor-strike-in-canada/473783/21 "2008-11-21T15:28:29Z")
They say it was probably only the size of a fist, and that they likely won’t find it. ---
**Author:** ![Ethilrist](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ethilrist/32/4604_2.png) [@Ethilrist](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ethilrist)\ **Post date:** [November 21, 2008, 3:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/meteor-strike-in-canada/473783/22 "2008-11-21T15:42:18Z")
Great. Now they’re _never_ gonna find that toolbox… ---
**Author:** ![Annie-Xmas](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ecc23a/32.png) [@Annie-Xmas](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Annie-Xmas)\ **Post date:** [November 21, 2008, 3:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/meteor-strike-in-canada/473783/23 "2008-11-21T15:42:29Z")
By the time it fell through the atmosphere, it was probably the size of a chihuhua’s head. ---
**Author:** ![carnivorousplant](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/carnivorousplant/32/3563_2.png) [@carnivorousplant](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/carnivorousplant)\ **Post date:** [November 21, 2008, 4:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/meteor-strike-in-canada/473783/24 "2008-11-21T16:20:43Z")
Not if they were _Craftsman._ ---
**Author:** ![Cat\_Whisperer](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cat_whisperer/32/4839_2.png) [@Cat\_Whisperer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cat_Whisperer)\ **Post date:** [November 21, 2008, 4:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/meteor-strike-in-canada/473783/25 "2008-11-21T16:55:10Z")
> [@Koxinga](#): > > There was a [similar case](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x0BifYPQQJE&feature=related) in Washington State a couple of years ago–lot of superfluous footage, but you can skip ahead to about 1:45 to see the meteor impact. I should have known it was a fake when the woman was saying, “No! Don’t go down there!” A meteorite lands 40 feet from you, and your first instinct is to NOT go look? I don’t think so. 😃 ---
**Author:** ![detop](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/bcef8e/32.png) [@detop](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/detop)\ **Post date:** [November 21, 2008, 5:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/meteor-strike-in-canada/473783/26 "2008-11-21T17:57:43Z")
It made the Bad Astronomer’s [blog](http://blogs.discovermagazine.com/badastronomy/2008/11/20/alberta-meteor-eh/) ! ---
**Author:** ![Northern\_Piper](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/northern_piper/32/5304_2.png) [@Northern\_Piper](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Northern_Piper)\ **Post date:** [November 22, 2008, 2:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/meteor-strike-in-canada/473783/27 "2008-11-22T14:47:34Z")
> [@FarmerChick](#): > > Whatever the hell it is, it was HUGE! One local astronomer is putting it as between one and ten tons, but that it probably all broke up: [Meteor likely broke on entry](http://www.canada.com/calgaryherald/news/story.html?id=ea7552b3-2b25-4acc-a2d8-c60b972e117b&p=1): > [@](#): > > More than 400 people reported seeing the object, said Alan Hildebrand, co-ordinator of the Canadian Fireball Reporting Centre at the University of Calgary. This is by a large margin a record response and it was a tremendous help in narrowing down the fall area, he added. > > The scientist estimates the rock that hurtled into the atmosphere likely weighed between one and ten tons. Such large fireballs are rare, he said, with only a couple streaking over Canadian skies a year. > > … > > The meteor expert is especially interested in hearing from people in the Wainwright, Provost, Chauvin and Ribstone areas And a professional meteorite dealer (such jobs exist?) says that if you were close enough to hear the sonic boom, you’re probably in the neighbourhood of where the pieces came down: > [@](#): > > Robert Haag has made a living for the past 30 years buying and selling meteorites and other space debris that has fallen to Earth. > The American meteorite collector is offering $10,000 to anyone who can locate the first one-kilogram chunk of the meteorite that fell in the region Thursday evening. > > He says the people with the best chance of finding the fireball are the ones who heard the sonic boom made by the falling meteorite chunks. > > “If you hear that, then you’re probably within 30 kilometres of it,” Haag said. $10,000 for 1 kg? might be worth going for a stroll in the fields, **FarmerChick**! ---
**Author:** ![Jaglavak](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/85f322/32.png) [@Jaglavak](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jaglavak)\ **Post date:** [November 22, 2008, 11:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/meteor-strike-in-canada/473783/28 "2008-11-22T23:30:43Z")
That was not a large meteor. _This_ was a large meteor: [Sudbury Meteor Strike](http://science.howstuffworks.com/10-memorable-meteor-crashes.htm/printable) 1. Second in size only to the Vredefort Dome, the Sudbury Basin is a 40-mile-long, 16-mile-wide, 9-mile-deep crater caused by a giant meteorite that struck Earth about 1.85 billion years ago. Located in Greater Sudbury, Ontario, the crater is actually home to about 162,000 people. In 1891, the Canadian Copper Company began mining copper from the basin, but it was soon discovered that the crater also contained nickel, which is much more valuable, so the miners changed course. Today, the International Nickel Company operates out of the basin and mines about 10 percent of the world’s nickel supply from the site. I’m told that the initial hit punched a crater about 60 miles wide, and mountain sized chunks can still be found up to 500 miles away. I’ve always wanted to see some really high def video of a strike like that… on some other planet far, far away. ---
**Author:** ![jasonh300](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/46a35a/32.png) [@jasonh300](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jasonh300)\ **Post date:** [November 23, 2008, 3:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/meteor-strike-in-canada/473783/29 "2008-11-23T03:14:36Z")
> [@Jaglavak](#): > > 40-mile-long, 16-mile-wide, 9-mile-deep crater caused by a giant meteorite Are these numbers accurate? You’d think something would be visible on Google Maps satellite imagery. The 9-mile-deep part is what I’m having trouble with. The whole Sudbury area does look kind of bare when you zoom out. Is that area what they’re referring to? And why doesn’t it fill up with water? ---
**Author:** ![Jelymag](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/d2c977/32.png) [@Jelymag](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jelymag)\ **Post date:** [November 24, 2008, 7:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/meteor-strike-in-canada/473783/30 "2008-11-24T19:23:07Z")
A Leonid possibly? Seems around the right time. ---
**Author:** ![Chefguy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chefguy/32/138_2.png) [@Chefguy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chefguy)\ **Post date:** [November 24, 2008, 7:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/meteor-strike-in-canada/473783/31 "2008-11-24T19:26:29Z")
> [@Northern\_Piper](#): > > And a professional meteorite dealer (such jobs exist?) says that if you were close enough to hear the sonic boom, you’re probably in the neighbourhood of where the pieces came down: > > $10,000 for 1 kg? might be worth going for a stroll in the fields, **FarmerChick**! The damn things sell for a fortune, and meteorite hunters usually flock to an area where there’s a known strike. ---
**Author:** ![FarmerChick](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/a9a28c/32.png) [@FarmerChick](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FarmerChick)\ **Post date:** [November 25, 2008, 12:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/meteor-strike-in-canada/473783/32 "2008-11-25T12:12:14Z")
[Boom](http://www.gargaro.com/MaRvInWaVs/boom.wav) I wasn’t close enough to hear the sonic boom. My dogs heard it though, a couple of minutes after it pasted, they went nuts, so I assumed that’s what they reacted to. ---
**Author:** ![ivan\_astikov](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/58f4c7/32.png) [@ivan\_astikov](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ivan_astikov)\ **Post date:** [November 25, 2008, 12:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/meteor-strike-in-canada/473783/33 "2008-11-25T12:12:54Z")
Why was the object glowing though, so close to contact with the ground? I thought these sort of objects did all their burning up as they entered the atmosphere? ---
**Author:** ![Xema](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/x/9de053/32.png) [@Xema](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Xema)\ **Post date:** [November 25, 2008, 2:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/meteor-strike-in-canada/473783/34 "2008-11-25T14:46:30Z")
> [@ivan\_astikov](#): > > I thought these sort of objects did all their burning up as they entered the atmosphere? They glow for as long as some material remains to be vaporized. Most are small enough that they burn up soon after contact with the atmosphere. Larger ones last longer, giving a longer and brighter trail. The really big ones have enough material that not all is vaporized by the time they reach the ground (where heating stops). ---
**Author:** ![shijinn](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/cc9497/32.png) [@shijinn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/shijinn)\ **Post date:** [November 25, 2008, 5:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/meteor-strike-in-canada/473783/35 "2008-11-25T17:16:12Z")
> [@Chefguy](#): > > The damn things sell for a fortune, and meteorite hunters usually flock to an area where there’s a known strike. can i go poke around for a few hours and list “Meteorite Hunter” as part of my resume? ---
**Author:** ![clayton\_e](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/c57346/32.png) [@clayton\_e](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/clayton_e)\ **Post date:** [November 25, 2008, 11:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/meteor-strike-in-canada/473783/36 "2008-11-25T23:19:51Z")
> [@Koxinga](#): > > There was a [similar case](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x0BifYPQQJE&feature=related) in Washington State a couple of years ago–lot of superfluous footage, but you can skip ahead to about 1:45 to see the meteor impact. A fake… very very fake… but not exactly so bad that you can pick up on it right off. Bad acting and the bad science of a chunk of rock the size of a car just dug into the ground only about 2 feet kinda gives it away, though.. ---
**Author:** ![kitemaker\_chuck](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/a88e4f/32.png) [@kitemaker\_chuck](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kitemaker_chuck)\ **Post date:** [November 25, 2008, 11:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/meteor-strike-in-canada/473783/37 "2008-11-25T23:26:31Z")
There’s been a meteor strike? Well, that’s a picket line nobody will want to cross. ---
**Author:** ![Cat\_Whisperer](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cat_whisperer/32/4839_2.png) [@Cat\_Whisperer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cat_Whisperer)\ **Post date:** [November 26, 2008, 7:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/meteor-strike-in-canada/473783/38 "2008-11-26T19:42:07Z")
> [@shijinn](#): > > can i go poke around for a few hours and list “Meteorite Hunter” as part of my resume? I would. Come to think of it, I’m unemployed right now, with a full tank of gas in the car. ROAD TRIP1!!! ---
**Author:** ![detop](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/bcef8e/32.png) [@detop](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/detop)\ **Post date:** [November 26, 2008, 9:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/meteor-strike-in-canada/473783/39 "2008-11-26T21:27:25Z")
> [@shijinn](#): > > can i go poke around for a few hours and list “Meteorite Hunter” as part of my resume? Only if you have a licence. ---
**Author:** ![Sunspace](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sunspace/32/1250_2.png) [@Sunspace](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sunspace)\ **Post date:** [November 26, 2008, 9:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/meteor-strike-in-canada/473783/40 "2008-11-26T21:33:14Z")
> [@detop](#): > > Only if you have a licence. You need a license for that now? [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/meteor-strike-in-canada/473783.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/meteor-strike-in-canada/473783.md?page=3)