What appeared to be lightning lit up the sky over Calgary early Wednesday morning, just before 6:30 am.
Fireballs are rare and are described by NASA as an unusually bright meteor seen in a large area.
Fireballs hit the Earth every day, but about 70 percent do so in uninhabited areas, so they go unnoticed.
About half of the fireballs that fall in populated areas occur during the day and are obscured by sunlight.
The timing and location of Wednesday’s meteor make it a rare occurrence.
A busy month for meteors
Sky watchers may have a few chances to see a fireball this month, with three meteor showers peaking in November — though two have already passed.
The first, the Southern Taurids, reached its peak on the night of November 4-5, according to Weather Network science writer Scott Sutherland.
The Northern Taurids – the “twin” of the Southern Taurids – peaked on the night of the 11th to the 12th.
Sutherland says astronomers expect a meteor shower on the morning of November 14, as Earth passes debris from Comet Tempel-Tuttle, the source of the Leonid meteor shower.
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