Bright Flash lit up sky over Prince Edward Island
On Tuesday night, a bright flash lit up the sky over Canadian province Prince Edward Island (PEI) and Maritimes at about 9 pm. Some people thought it was lightning, while some thought it was a shooting star. But according to astronomer David Lane, director of the observatory at Saint Mary's University in Halifax, it was likely a bright meteor called a fireball. According to reports, the light was bright enough to draw many people’s attention.
Lane further said, “We don't know how fast it was going. We don't know what it was made of, so a lot of it's just a wild guess as to how big it was or what orbit it was around the sun”. Paul Aitken, who was heading east on Route 3 just past Cherry Valley, said that he saw the flash at around 9 pm.
Aitken said that it was similar to lightning, but it was strange at this time of year. According to Aitken, it was a complete flash and soon it was over. He further said that he tried to get his camera to capture the moment, but the fireball was too fast.
Another person, Kendall Docherty was driving toward Montague when he saw the fireball. Like Aitken, Docherty first thought that it was lightning. Once it got closer to earth, it got really bright and then it just kind of faded away, Docherty added. It was similar to a falling star, according to Docherty.
Jessica D'Amico was in the Eastlink Centre parking lot when she witnessed the moment. According to Jessica, she saw something blue in the sky which just exploded. When it was happening, Jessica was talking to her mom. She told her mother about that strange object in the sky, but her mother didn’t believe her first, but after a while, she realized Jessica saw something strange.