Bright fireball above Guadalajara and Soria (mid-north Spain) in the evening of January 4th 2019


pathOn the evening of January 4th 2019 at 17:39 UT, even with still some daylight, a bright fireball crossing the skies of Guadalajara and Soria provinces (mid-north Spain) could be registered with SMART Project's detector at La Hita observatory (Toledo) and with north surveillance webcam operated at Calar Alto Observatory (Almería).

This object couln't be registered with SMART Project's detectors located at Calar Alto Observatory as it happened to low on the horizon.

Again, an object far away from Calar Alto skies can be registered with the cameras located in this observatory. In this case even with some daylight. A consistent proof of the extremely good transparency of the skies.

Following the study that Professor José María Madiedo (University of Huelva) and SMART Project PI has done of this event, this object has, as the precedent ones, an asteroidal origin. The fireball happened at a speed of 64.000 km/h, starting at an altitude of 80 km above north Guadalajara province's skies, moving then southeastward, entering into the south of Soria province, and finishing at an altitude of 38 km.

Below is the video and a zoom of the fireball.

 

 

The zoom:

 


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 (University of Huelva) to track that kind of objects. Specifically, Calar Alto (CAHA) station and the one at Sierra Nevada (IAA-CSIC) constitute a collaboration agreement between Professor Madiedo and both institutions.