A bright asteroidal fireball lights up the skies over southern Spain

During the night of May 15, we were able to enjoy a bright fireball of asteroidal origin.

The event was recorded by the detectors operated by the SMART Project at Calar Alto (Almería), Huelva, La Hita (Toledo), Sierra Nevada, La Sagra (Granada), Seville, Otura (Granada), and Mazagón (Huelva).

The cameras at the Calar Alto Observatory in Almería also tracked the event.

Asteroidal fireball recorded during the night.

Preliminary analysis
Professor José María Madiedo (IAA-CSIC)

Fireball · 00:12 UT

Event type: Asteroidal
Initial velocity: 106,000 km/h
Initial altitude: 98 km
Final altitude: 39 km

Event video
Calar Alto Observatory (Almería)

The Calar Alto fireball detection station (CAHA) , together with the station of the Institute of Astrophysics of Andalusia (IAA-CSIC) in Sierra Nevada and others distributed across Spain, are part of the S.M.A.R.T project, led by researcher José María Madiedo.

The Calar Alto and Sierra Nevada stations operate under a collaboration agreement between Professor Madiedo and both institutions.