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Joe Velaidum shared that he had been standing at the exact impact spot just minutes before the meteorite struck.
The University of Alberta’s investigation revealed that the meteorite is classified as an ordinary chondrite.
Canadian man Joe Velaidum captured both video and audio of a meteorite crashing to Earth which scientists believe is the first time such an event has been recorded in this manner, CBC News reported. Joe Velaidum shared that he had been standing at the exact impact spot just minutes before the meteorite struck.
He said, “The shocking thing for me is that I was standing right there just a couple of minutes before impact. If I’d seen it, I probably would’ve been standing right there, and it could have ripped me in half.”
His daughter, Laura Kelly, said that the family was initially not sure about the origins of the object. She explained, “My father thought it could be a meteorite and sent us a link to the University of Alberta’s Meteorite Reporting System. I’ll admit, we were sceptical at first.”
“We are now in awe that a piece of ancient interstellar space could travel millions of miles and land, literally, on our doorstep,” she added.
The University of Alberta’s investigation revealed that the meteorite is classified as an ordinary chondrite. Chris Herd, a geologist and professor from the Department of Earth and Atmospheric Sciences, called the event “momentous” as he said, “As the first and only meteorite from the province of PEI, and possibly the Maritimes, the Charlottetown Meteorite announced its arrival in a spectacular way.”