English (UK)
During the nights of December 20 and 21, we were able to witness two beautiful fireball events over the center of the Iberian Peninsula. The first occurred at 21:10 UT on the 20th, and the second at 02:45 UT.
Both events were recorded by the SMART Project detectors operated from the observatories of Calar Alto (Almería), La Hita (Toledo), Sierra Nevada (Granada), La Sagra (Granada), Mazagón (Huelva), and Seville. The one on the 21st could also be observed from Otura (Granada).
The external cameras of the Calar Alto Observatory in Almería also witnessed both objects.
According to the preliminary analysis carried out by Professor José María Madiedo (Institute of Astrophysics of Andalusia IAA-CSIC), the data obtained are as follows:
Fireball on December 20th
- Type of event: asteroidal
- Initial speed: 79,000 km/h
- Initial altitude: 86 km
- Final altitude: 38 km
Fireball on December 21st
- Type of event: cometary
- Initial speed: 206,000 km/h
- Initial altitude: 114 km
- Final altitude: 78 km
As shown on the right pictures, both events ocurred very close each other, the first one to the north of Toledo while the second one to the south of Ciudad Real.
Below are the videos registered with the external cameras operated at Calar Alto Observatory in Almería. First video is the December 20th one, and the other two videos are of the December 21st fireball.
Calar Alto (CAHA) fireball detection station, together with the one at the Observatory of Sierra Nevada (IAA-CSIC) and others placed at different locations in Spain, are part of the S.M.A.R.T. project led by Professor José María Madiedo (IAA) to track that kind of objects. Specifically, Calar Alto (CAHA) station and the one at Sierra Nevada (IAA-CSIC) constitute a collaboration agreement between the IAA researcher José María Madiedo and both institutions.