In July 2024, a truly cosmic event took place on Prince Edward Island, Canada. After returning from a walk with his dogs, Joe Velaidum, a resident of Marshfield, noticed damage to one of the paving slabs in front of his house. On the surface he found debris, dust and silver-gray rock fragments. Intrigued, he decided to review the footage from the security camera mounted above the front door. 

Analysis of the video footage revealed an unusual phenomenon. The recording showed a flash, followed moments later by an audible swish and crackle. It turned out that the camera recorded the moment the meteorite hit the sidewalk in front of the house. This is the first known recording in history to capture both the image and sound of a meteorite fall! 

Examination of the surface of the sidewalk and the material collected from it showed that the find was chondrite – the most common type of stony meteorite. A total of 95 grams of material was collected and included in the University of Alberta’s meteorite collection. The object was named “Charlottetown Meteorite,” in honor of the nearby provincial capital. 

Meteorites such as Charlottetown come from the asteroid belt between Mars and Jupiter. Before entering the Earth’s atmosphere, they travel at a speed of about 60,000 km/h, but as a result of atmospheric friction, their speed decreases significantly. When it hit the sidewalk in front of Velaidum’s house, the meteorite had a speed of about 200 km/h. 

The footage of the Marshfield resident is the first known recording that captures both the image and sound of a meteorite hitting the Earth’s surface. Such footage is extremely valuable to scientists, as it provides new information about the behavior of meteorites as they enter the atmosphere and their interaction with our planet’s surface.