English (UK)
The skies over Spain offered a spectacular show this week. Thanks to the detectors of the SMART Project, a big fireball was captured by observatories in Calar Alto (Almería), La Hita (Toledo), Sierra Nevada, La Sagra and Otura (Granada), Huelva, and Seville.
During the early morning of September 18 at around 02:11 UT, a dazzling fireball crossed the heavens, bursting with several flares and leaving behind a vivid, colorful trail.
The outdoor cameras of the Calar Alto Observatory in Almería were fortunate enough to capture this moment.
As always, the preliminary study was carried out by Professor José María Madiedo (Institute of Astrophysics of Andalusia, IAA-CSIC), Principal Investigator of the SMART Project:
Spectacular fireball (bolidazo) at 02:11 UT
- Type of event: Cometary
- Initial velocity: 58,000 km/h
- Initial altitude: 101 km
- Final altitude: 67 km
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.