The astronomical complex of La Hita (Toledo) recorded a spectacular fireball streaking across the night skyThe car was seen by many witnesses who echoed the phenomenon on social networks.
The appearance of this fireball occurred at 11:06 p.m. this Sunday, and was also recorded by the detectors that South-West Europe Bolide and Meteor Network (Swemn Network) It operates in the astronomical complex of La Hita (Toledo), as reported by the Fundación Astrohita in a press release.
These detectors operate within the framework of the Smart Project, a research project of the Higher Council for Scientific Research (CSIC) coordinated by the Institute of Astrophysics of Andalusia (IAA-CSIC) with the aim of constantly monitor the sky to record and study the impact of rocks from different objects in the solar system on the Earth’s atmosphere.
This was also recorded by the detectors that this same research project installed in the observatories of Calar Alto, Sierra Nevada, Seville, La Sagra (Granada), Huelva, Olocau (Valencia) and Cullera Lighthouse (Valencia).
About 51,000 kilometers per hour
This fireball was analyzed by the researcher responsible for the Smart Project, astrophysicist José María Madiedo, a researcher at the Institute of Astrophysics of Andalusia (IAA-CSIC). According to the results of this analysis, the phenomenon occurred when a rock entered the Earth’s atmosphere at a speed of about 51,000 kilometers per hour.
The rock came from an asteroid. These rocks that intersect the Earth’s orbit are called meteoroids and sudden friction of rock with the atmosphere At this enormous speed, the rock (the meteoroid) became incandescent, generating a fireball that began at an altitude of about 81 kilometers above the town of Villasequilla de Yepes (Toledo).
From there, it advanced north, entering the airspace of the Community of Madrid and finally extinguished at an altitude of approximately 38 kilometers above the capital of Madrid, specifically above the neighborhood of Fuentelareina.
Visible from over 600 kilometers away
The high brightness of this car allowed it to be seen from over 600 kilometers away.. Throughout its trajectory, it presented several explosions that caused sudden increases in its brightness and which were due to various sudden ruptures of the rock.
In all, The fireball traveled about 68 kilometers through the air and it was completely destroyed in the atmosphere, so that no fragments reached the ground.
