Fireball above Huelva (Southwest Spain) on June 16th 2018


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On June 16th 2018, at 0:31 UT, this fireball flew above Huelva (Southwest Spain) skies. The phenomena could be registered with some of the SMART Project's detectors and with one of the Calar Alto Observatory external surveillance webcams. The SMART detectors that registered the event were the ones operated at La Sagra (Granada), La Hita (Toledo) and Sevilla.

Following the preliminary analysis carried out by the PI of the SMART Project, Professor José María Madiedo (University of Huelva), this fireball occurred as a result of the entry into the Earth's atmosphere of a fragment detached from an asteroid. The object impacted against our atmosphere at a speed of about 66.000 km/h. The fireball started at an altitude of about 93 km above Huelva province, finishing at an altitude of about 43 km once it was above the Atlantic Ocean.

Below is the video that was registerd with the Calar Alto Observatory (Almería) west surveillance webcam. 


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.