By Ruhey/Getty Images
On July 25, 2024, a couple from Prince Edward Island returned home after walking their dogs to discover a sunburst of grey‑white dust across their walkway. Unsure of what had occurred, they reviewed their home‑security footage and were stunned to see a streak of light burst from the sky, followed by a dramatic impact sound that could be mistaken for a shattered window.
The security camera captured the final moments of a meteorite’s descent—a rare event that may be the only time audio and video evidence of a space rock striking Earth has ever been recorded. On January 13, 2025, the Meteoritical Society, which catalogs all known meteorite falls, officially registered the impact as the Charlottetown meteorite, named after the city where it landed. Canada has recovered just 69 meteorites, and the Charlottetown find is the sole one with a complete audio‑visual record.
After a nearby relative heard the impact, the couple contacted Chris Herd, a geologist and professor in the University of Alberta’s Department of Earth and Atmospheric Sciences. Herd, who had planned a family getaway to Prince Edward Island at the time, gladly visited the site. He also serves as curator of the university’s Meteorite Collection, the largest in Canada with roughly 450 meteorites worldwide. “We receive about ten inquiries a week, and in 99 % of cases the rocks are not meteorites,” Herd explained to the university’s staff, underscoring how exceptional this case was.
Nazarii_Neshcherenskyi/Shutterstock
The couple collected approximately 7 grams of fragmented material, and the size of the impact mark suggests the meteorite was the size of a small fruit. Analysis revealed it to be an ordinary chondrite—meteors that survive their atmospheric passage and contain tiny silicate spheres known as chondrules, remnants of the early solar nebula.
Meteorites are solid, rocky or metallic bodies less than 4 feet in diameter that endure the brutal entry through Earth’s atmosphere. The high‑velocity entry causes them to glow and burn, a phenomenon that gives rise to the familiar “shooting star” displays.
Ordinary chondrites are the most common meteorites found on Earth and originate from the asteroid belt between Mars and Jupiter. Gravitational interactions or collisions can dislodge these rocky fragments, sending them on a roughly 200‑million‑mile journey before they strike our planet. While the meteorite itself is not unique, the scientific community now has invaluable audio evidence of an impact’s sonic signature. For deeper insight into the importance of space impacts—such as those that may have accelerated evolution or the Northern Taurids meteor shower—see our related guides.
