Meteorite pieces found in Saskatchewan

Fragments of a huge meteorite that lit up the skies across Alberta and Saskatchewan last week have been found near the border city of Lloydminster, University of Calgary scientists say.

U of C planetary scientist Dr. Alan Hildebrand and graduate student Ellen Milley announced Friday morning they located several meteorite fragments late Thursday afternoon.

They believe thousands of meteorite bits are strewn over 20 square kilometres near the Battle River.

Friday afternoon, they led a group of reporters to the site — a region called Buzzard Coulee, about 40 kilometres from Lloydminster.

There, close to a frozen pond, numerous small rocks and pebbles could be seen that the scientists said were from the meteorite. No large chunks were spotted, however.

The fireball that streaked across western Canadian skies on Nov. 20 was witnessed by thousands. Researchers believe it was a 10-tonne fragment from an asteroid.

It was also captured on video by a number of people.

Reporters were told those observations, combined with the physical evidence, give scientists a treasure trove of data that could give them a better understanding of the solar system.