A Canadian man’s near-death experience with a meteorite impact is captured on camera, offering a rare glimpse into the universe’s vastness and unpredictability.
A Meteorite’s Close Call: A Canadian Man’s Near-Death Experience
There are close calls in life, and then there are cosmic close calls. For a Canadian man named Joe Velaidum, his recent experience with a meteorite hitting the ground right where he had been standing is an astonishing example of this phenomenon.
Velaidum was innocently outside his home’s front door when a meteorite, traveling at approximately 125 miles per hour, smashed into the exact same spot. The incident occurred moments after Velaidum had moved away to walk his dogs.
“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.”
The meteorite’s arrival was captured by Velaidum’s home security camera, which may be the first time both the visuals and sound of a meteorite strike have been recorded.
“It’s not anything we’ve ever heard before. From a science perspective, it’s new,” Chris Herd, curator of the University of Alberta‘s meteorite collection, told CBC News. “The meteorite itself we’ve been able to investigate since then, thanks to the owners.”
The meteorite that struck Velaidum’s property is estimated to have originated from the asteroid belt between Mars and Jupiter, approximately 1.2 to 2.2 astronomical units away from Earth on average.
While the meteorite itself is of ordinary make – a chondrite, the most common type of rock to fall to Earth – its origins are spectacular.
Velaidum’s discovery was serendipitous, as he only found out about the meteorite strike after checking his security footage. He documented all his findings and retrieved samples from the debris, which were sent to U of A scientists for analysis. The results confirmed that the meteorite is indeed of extraterrestrial origin.
The incident serves as a reminder of the universe’s vastness and unpredictability. While Velaidum was fortunate enough to have dodged a potentially fatal bullet, the experience highlights the importance of scientific investigation into such events, providing valuable insights into our planet’s place in the cosmos.
