A meteor did in fact enter the Earth's atmosphere and streak across the skies over Ontario on Sunday, experts have confirmed.
University of Western Ontario astronomy professor Peter Brown told CTV Toronto that a meteor passed over Peterborough, Ont., located about 130 kilometres east of Toronto, shortly before 4:30 p.m. on Sunday.
While most of the equipment used to track meteors was not in operation at the time, a series of microphones the university has in place did detect a shockwave, Brown said.
He said the meteor, estimated between one-half to one metre in diameter, was big enough that parts likely struck the Earth.
"This clearly was a pretty massive event, lots of mass, so on that basis alone I think we have a pretty good chance that meteorites would make it to the ground," Brown told The Canadian Press.
He said the odds of fragments hitting the ground depend on how fast the meteor was travelling.
"It would not surprise me if meteorites are found," Brown added.
Social media lit up late Sunday afternoon with a number of Ontarians and some U.S. residents reporting seeing a flash of light in the sky, or hearing a loud rumble.
Videos of the event were also posted online, while the American Meteor Society had about a dozen pending investigations in connection with the reported meteor strike.
One witness told CTV Toronto that he heard a loud crash on Sunday afternoon.
"I thought it was something upstairs in my house, but I went upstairs couldn't figure out what it was," the Peterborough resident said.
Sheri Adams, also of Peterborough, was in her apartment when she heard was she describes as a "whoosh" followed by a loud "boom."
"I didn't know if it was thunder, because there was no lightening," she said. "People (in the building) were scurrying in the hall because they thought one of our elevators had dropped."
"Everybody kind of seemed to be going crazy," she added.
