iN VIDEO: Blazing fireball caught on camera in Kamloops

A blazing ball of fire lit up the sky over BC early this morning and some residents were able to capture footage of the celestial wonder.

Kamloops resident Tina Beerda caught wind of the exciting news on social media early this morning, Oct. 27, prompting her to check her outdoor security cameras at her home in the Aberdeen community.

“I just kept looking at the footage until I saw something and was super excited to see it,” she told iNFOnews.ca in a message. “I jumped out of bed to show my husband. I’m kind of a nut for anything weather related.”

At first, Beerda’s footage shows a calm, dark sky in the background of her quiet neighbourhood. Suddenly, a bright ball of light with a long glowing tail drops rapidly into view, lighting up clouds before disappearing behind distant mountains.

iNFOnews.ca sent the footage to the director for the Okanagan Branch of the Royal Astronomical Society of Canada, Sean Perdue.

“This is a meteor commonly referred to as a fireball, an especially large, bright one,” he wrote in a message. “The brightness depends on the size of the particle and how far into the atmosphere it travels. Most meteors we see are tiny and burn up very quickly.”

Perdue said the blazing meteor could be from the Orionids or the Taurid meteor showers which are currently active and known for fireballs. He hasn’t heard if there was a confirmed impact.

The colour of a meteor is determined by their chemical composition, with the blue-green colour of the one in the footage indicating magnesium content.

“I didn’t see this one, and I’ve only seen a couple before. It’s exciting,” Perdue said.