[meteorite-list] Family Claims To Have Seen A Meteorite Hit The Ground in Canada

[Ron Baalke]

http://www.yorkregion.com/yr/yr4/YR_News/TopStories/story/3911254p-4522725c.html

Family sees meteorite hit ground
Michael Power
Yorkregion.com
March 15, 2007

What Richard Yip-Chuck saw fall into a farmer's field Sunday 
evening looked like a long, white ball with orange sparks 
shooting off the back.

The Holland Landing resident was driving along Hwy. 7 with 
his wife, Ele, and sons Kyle, 12, and 10-year-old Dylan, 
when they saw what looked like a fireball plummet to earth.

"There were sparks coming out of the back," Mr. Yip-Chuck 
said. "It was wild."

The bright flashes of light in the sky Sunday led to police 
switchboards in Toronto, York and Durham regions lighting 
up with people wondering what was happening.

People called saying they had seen a fireball in the sky 
between 8 and 8:30 p.m.

The Yip-Chucks, who were returning from hockey games in 
Lindsay where both sons play on the same team, saw the 
meteorite hit a farmers' field west of Lindsay, about an 
hour from Newmarket.

His younger son, Dylan, thought the fireball might 
have been a UFO, Mr. Yip-Chuck said.

"He was freaking out, saying, 'We've got to get off the 
road,'" he said. "But it was really cool, moving really 
fast. Whatever was coming off it was really bright."

The ball of light at first appeared to be a meteor, but 
also seemed too large for a falling rock, said Mr. 
Yip-Chuck's older son, Kyle.

The ball looked to be about the size of a car, said Kyle, 
who plays for the York Simcoe Express AAA hockey team.

The meteorite was probably about the size of a fist, 
given so many people in the GTA were able to see it, 
said Paul Delaney, a professor of physics and astronomy 
at York University.