In what might be a historic first, a meteorite hitting the ground was captured on both video and audio, just outside a man’s home in Canada.
The rare event was recorded by a door camera, providing an incredible glimpse into a moment that could have been deadly.
A Close Call with a Meteorite
Joe Velaidum, a resident of Marshfield, Prince Edward Island, was standing outside his home in July, preparing to take his dog for a walk.
Little did he know, a meteorite was hurtling toward Earth, and it nearly hit him.
“It’s surreal to think about how rare and close this encounter was. I was standing right at the point of impact just minutes before,” Velaidum told Compass Media.
He explained that he had stopped to move a dog leash off the grass to help the landscapers who were scheduled to mow the lawn later that day. “I never stop in that spot,” he said.
“If I had stayed there for just a minute or two longer, I would have been hit by the meteorite and probably killed.”
Fortunately, Velaidum and his dogs had moved away by the time the meteorite struck.
He only realized something unusual had happened when he returned from his walk and found strange dark debris on the ground.
The Moment of Impact Caught on Camera
Curious about the debris, Velaidum checked his door camera footage.
To his astonishment, the camera had captured the moment the meteorite hit.
Even more incredible, the video showed the meteorite falling to Earth in several frames before impact.
Laura, Velaidum’s partner, and her father suggested the debris might be from a meteorite.
Acting on this hunch, Velaidum collected samples of the debris and sent about 7 grams (0.24 ounces) to Chris Herd, the curator of the University of Alberta’s meteorite collection.
What Scientists Discovered
Every day, Earth is bombarded with around 44,000 kilograms (48.5 tons) of meteoritic material.
Most of it burns up harmlessly in the atmosphere, but some fragments reach the ground.
After analyzing the samples, Herd confirmed that the debris was chondrite, the oldest known type of meteorite, formed during the birth of the Solar System.

“It’s mind-blowing to think that this hunk of rock traveled hundreds of millions of miles and landed on our front doorstep, exactly where I was standing just a few minutes prior,” Velaidum said.
A Rare Scientific Discovery
While chondrite meteorites are the most common type, this incident is extraordinary for another reason: it’s likely the first time a meteorite impact has been captured on both video and audio.
“It’s not anything we’ve ever heard before,” Herd told CBC News. “From a science perspective, it’s new.”
He added in a University of Alberta statement, “No other meteorite fall has been documented like this, complete with sound. It adds a whole new dimension to the natural history of the Island.”
Herd estimates the meteorite was traveling at about 60,000 kilometers per hour (37,282 miles per hour) as it entered the atmosphere.
By the time it hit the ground, it had slowed to a terminal velocity of around 200 kilometers per hour (124 miles per hour).
A Lucky Escape
For Joe Velaidum, the incident was a reminder of how close he came to disaster. “When I was innocently moving that dog leash, a meteor was hurling toward me,” he said.
Thankfully, he and his dogs were safely out of the way when the meteorite struck, leaving behind a rare and fascinating scientific discovery.
This extraordinary event not only highlights the unpredictability of space but also provides scientists with valuable data to better understand the origins of our Solar System.