Huge fireball streaking across the Canada sky sparks fears of plane crash <br /> <br />A LARGE meteor streaked across the sky above the eastern United States and Canada, setting off confusion about a possible plane crash in Toronto. <br /> <br />The fireball was spotted at about 10:36 p.m. Tuesday and prompted about 280 reports to the American Meteor Society, primarily from Ontario. <br /> <br />But witnesses as far west as Michigan and as far south as Virginia reported the meteor over the eastern Great Lakes region, the organisation said on its website. <br /> <br />“Toronto police and fire services received multiple calls about a ‘plane crashing onto the Toronto Harbour,’ but luckily it was just a fireball in the night sky,” the site reads. <br /> <br />“The preliminary estimated trajectory plotted from the witness reports shows the meteor was travelling approximately from the South to the North and ended its flight south of Cameron, NY.” <br /> <br />Caroline de Kloet, a media relations officer for the Toronto police, told the Toronto Star that the department received “a lot of calls” about the quick, bright streak across the nighttime sky. <br /> <br />She also told the newspaper that Porter Airlines, which operates out of nearby Billy Bishop Airport, was not missing any planes. <br /> <br />What witnesses actually saw was a meteor from the Orionids shower, which started Tuesday and will be active until Nov. 14. <br /> <br />Peak activity will be on Oct. 21 and Oct. 22, with up to 20 meteors per hour. <br /> <br />The Orionids, which are known to be bright and quick, are formed from debris from Halley’s comet, according to NASA. <br /> <br />“Those streaks of light are really caused by tiny specks of comet-stuff hitting Earth’s atmosphere at very high speed and disintegrating into flashes of light,” NASA reports. <br /> <br />The University of Toronto Scarborough caught video of the fireball from its observatory, which is believed to be a first, according to its Twitter account. <br /> <br />Of the major meteor showers this year, the Orionids have one of the fastest speeds, at about 41 miles per second. <br /> <br />NASA reports only the Eta Aquariids and the Leonids are quicker, at 44 miles per second. <br />In Toronto, the meteor even caused a stir during the Blue Jays’ 5-2 win over the Baltimore Orioles in the American League wild-card game. <br /> <br />The Associated Press reports that fans in the north end of the stadium beyond the outfield walls tweeted about seeing a meteor shower south of the Rogers Centre. <br /> <br />Other users on Twitter reported seeing a bright yellowish-green streak of light. <br /> <br />Some people said what they saw lasted up to 5 seconds, while another said a “huge bang”accompanied the sighting, stirring up birds at a farm in Pennsylvania. <br /> <br />https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC72L... <br />Website:http://powerofteam.net/
