Scientists find 10-tonne 'space rock' in Canada

Ottawa, Nov 29 : Scientists have found the fragments of a 10-tonne asteroid along the Alberta/Saskatchewan border in Canada.

According to a report by the Canadian Press, University of Calgary researchers Alan Hildebrand and graduate student Ellen Millet discovered several pieces of the space rock late on November 27 near Marsden, a farming village of 275 people about 270 kilometres southeast of Edmonton.

The search for the space rock began on November 20 after the asteroid was spotted hurtling towards Earth by thousands of people in both Alberta and Saskatchewan.

People in the Marsden area not only saw the fireball, which was as bright as a billion-watt light bulb, but they also heard and smelled it.

"It made a rumbling sound and it left a weird smell. This will sound funny, but it smelled like burning rock," said Glenda Hankins, who owns the Marsden Hotel.

Besides sonic booms, witnesses also reported hearing hissing or crackling noises like frying bacon.

Dr. Hildebrand, a co-ordinator of the Canadian Fireball Reporting Centre with the Canadian Space Agency, said fireballs can act as radio transmitters, causing odd sounds.

He expects that thousands of meteorite fragments were strewn over an estimated 20-square-kilometres near the Battle River.

The largest meteorite shower in Canada occurred northeast of Edmonton near the town of Bruderheim in 1960. More than 700 fragments were recovered that together weighed a total of 300 kilograms.

ANI