Meteor lights up Sunday morning sky over Ottawa

A bright object spotted streaking across the sky on a sunny, bright morning in Ottawa was a meteor.

Terry Cai sent CTV News Ottawa dash cam video showing an object travelling across the sky at 10:06 a.m. Sunday morning. Cai was driving along Moodie Drive near Hunt Club Road when the dash cam captured the object. 

A Bell Media employee reported seeing a meteor at approximately the same time, saying it looked like a "falling star, but it had a red/orange/yellow tail."  One person on Twitter reported seeing a small meteor while they were looking northwest towards Gatineau.

St. Mary's University professor Dr. Robert Thacker, a Canada Research Chair in Computational Astrophysics,  tells CTV News Ottawa the object streaking across the sky was likely a meteor.

Astrophysicist and assistant professor at York University Jesse Rogerson told CTV News Ottawa the meteor is called a "bolide", because it is very bright. 

Thacker says the meteor is likely part of the Southern Delta Aquariids Meteor Shower, which peaked this weekend.

NASA says the meteors can be seen coming from the direction of the constellation Aquarius and area best viewed in the Southern Hemisphere, as well as southern latitudes of the Northern Hemisphere.

The Perseids meteor shower will peak in mid-August, considered the best meteor shower of the year, according to NASA.

With files from CTV News writer Michael Lee