A bird? A plane? Edwin's home run? Nope. A meteor flew over Toronto Tuesday night
American Meteor Society received nearly 280 reports of a fireball
A meteor flew over the city Tuesday night around the same time the Blue Jays punched their ticket to a playoff showdown with the Texas Rangers, leaving many fans wondering if it was Edwin Encarnacion's home-run shot streaking across the sky.
I think the <a href="https://twitter.com/UTSCObservatory">@UTSCObservatory</a> just recorded its first meteor! <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/fireball?src=hash">#fireball</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/toronto?src=hash">#toronto</a> <a href="https://t.co/vask7eB0eF">https://t.co/vask7eB0eF</a>
—@UTSCObservatoryAround 11:30 p.m. ET Tuesday, the UTSC Observatory, the astronomical observatory of the University of Toronto's Scarborough campus, tweeted that it had recorded its first meteor.
Encarnacion blasted his walk-off homer minutes later, and some fans suggested the fireball was the ball sailing out of the Rogers Centre.
That's no meteor. It's Edwin's 3 run shot! <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/BlueJays?src=hash">#BlueJays</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/WildCard?src=hash">#WildCard</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/OurMoment?src=hash">#OurMoment</a> <a href="https://t.co/wMqSVjqRt6">https://t.co/wMqSVjqRt6</a>
—@KathChopp.<a href="https://twitter.com/NTWScottRosts">@NTWScottRosts</a> my bad Scott, it wasnt a meteor..IT WAS EDWIN'S ROCKET SAILING OUT OF THE DOME <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/OurMoment?src=hash">#OurMoment</a>
—@EricRiehl_That wasn't a meteor in the Toronto sky it was Edwin's ROCKET of a walk-off 3-run homer. <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/BlueJays?src=hash">#BlueJays</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/ALWildCard?src=hash">#ALWildCard</a>
—@DelmeHerbertWhile baseball fans were having fun with news of the meteor, others appeared frightened by the flash in the sky. Halton police went so far as to reassure residents that the fireball wasn't anything more dangerous.
FYI: meteor shower. Not a plane crash/fireballs/blue jays fans throwing beers - confirmed by <a href="https://twitter.com/JRCCTrenton">@JRCCTrenton</a> ^MRT <a href="https://t.co/eIwIwTRQHL">https://t.co/eIwIwTRQHL</a>
—@HRPSOakThe American Meteor Society said early Wednesday it had received nearly 280 reports of a fireball over the eastern Great Lakes region.
Witnesses were largely in Ontario, according to the society, but reports came in from New York, Pennsylvania, Maryland, New Jersey, Washington, D.C., Michigan, West Virginia, Virginia, Delaware, Massachusetts and Quebec.
"Toronto police and fire services received multiple calls about a 'plane crashing into the Toronto Harbour,' but luckily it was just a fireball in the night sky," the society said in a statement on its website.
The meteor's estimated trajectory was south to north, and "ended its flight south of Cameron, N.Y.," the society said.
According to NASA's schedule of meteor showers, the Orionids showers are active now until Nov. 14, with peak activity projected to be on Oct. 21 and 22, with as many as 20 meteors per hour.
"The Orionids, formed from the debris of Halley's comet, are known for being bright and quick," NASA says.