‘Really cool’: Fireball lights up Calgary sky

If you were lucky, you caught a glimpse of a fireball streaking across the sky last night. So, what was it?

Eyes across Calgary and other parts of the province were captivated by a fireball that lit up the sky Sunday evening.

Joseph Madamesila was with his family at the Spruce Meadows Christmas Market around 5:30 p.m. when he saw it.

“We just happened to be in the right place at the right time. ... I saw something burning and (moving) through the sky. I just thought I should take a video of it,” said Madamesila.

On his iPhone, he was able to capture an 11-second video of it.

“It was really cool,” he said.

“Lots of people in the crowd in that Christmas market were looking out, and they were really interested in it.”

Anita Den Hertog was eight kilometres east of Drumheller when she captured the fireball.

She told CTV News it moved fast and made noise.

According to the Facebook group Alberta Aurora Chasers, the fireball was visible across the province, with reports coming in from Wainwright, Edmonton, Lacombe, Red Deer, Airdrie, Okotoks, Lethbridge and Pincher Creek.

A University of Calgary Space Remote Sensing Lab aurora camera in Lucky Lake, Sask., captured the fireball as well.

Jeroen Stil, an associate professor in the department of physics and astronomy at the U of C, said all indications point to the fireball being from a piece of a rocket that took off from New Zealand on Nov. 5.

“With the commercialization of space, we see more strange features in the sky related to launches and, of course, to basically materials that come down,” said Stil.

He said the piece of rocket was scheduled to re-enter the atmosphere on Dec. 1.

“This was controlled and expected, if it was a piece of space debris,” said Stil.

For those who missed the fireball, he said people will be able to catch the Geminid meteor shower, which is expected on Dec. 13.