Scientists search for meteor after reports of bright ‘fireball’ over the Salt Lake valley
Scientists across Utah are searching for a meteor that fell over the Salt Lake valley May 3.
By Tamara Vaifanua and Michael Houck
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SALT LAKE CITY, Utah (KSL) — Scientists across Utah are searching for a meteor that fell over the Salt Lake valley Saturday night.
A dashcam from a KSL-TV viewer captured the meteor as it went behind the mountains in Ogden.
“What we call that is a fireball,” said Jason Trump, the education programs supervisor at Clark Planetarium. “This had a green glow to it, and it traveled across Utah and a lot of people were able to see it in the Salt Lake valley area.”
Trump said that scientists believe the meteor did fall somewhere near Ogden.
However, this might not be the only meteor gracing Utah’s skies. Trump said summer is one of the best times of the year to view meteor showers, with one peaking on Monday and Tuesday.
“Right now, we have a meteor shower that is going on. It’s the Eta Aquariid meteor shower. It’s actually peaking on the 5th and 6th of May,” Trump said.
There is also the Perseid meteor shower, which will occur in August and will be the biggest one of the year.
“So you get the opportunity to kind of catch this one at the beginning of the summer and really the largest one in August,” Trump said.
People can learn more about meteors and meteor showers at the Clark Planetarium, which hosts monthly star parties.
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