Fireball Recorded Over Morocco by Spanish Astronomical Observatories
A fireball was recently recorded by the detectors of the SMART project, an initiative by the Institute of Astrophysics of Andalusia (IAA-CSIC) in Spain. The detectors from several Spanish astronomical observatories, including Huelva, Seville, Sierra Nevada, La Sagra, Calar Alto, and La Hita, recorded the passage of the fireball over Morocco at a staggering speed of 37,000 mph.
Astrophysicist José María Madiedo, a researcher at the IAA-CSIC and director of the SMART project, analyzed the data and determined that the fireball appeared at 3:56 am on Sunday. Its luminosity was reported to be greater than that of a full Moon, which caused numerous people in Spain to witness the phenomenon and share it on social media.
Madiedo’s calculations revealed that the rock responsible for the fireball came from an asteroid and entered Earth’s atmosphere at an astounding speed of 37,000 mph. The intense friction with the atmosphere at this speed caused the rock to heat up to several thousand degrees Celsius, turning it incandescent and generating the fireball.
The fireball began its journey at an altitude of about 60,000 mph above the town of Ibouhjarene. It traveled southeast and eventually died out at an altitude of approximately 19,000 mph above the town of Beni Oukil. Throughout its trajectory, the fireball exhibited multiple explosions, which were caused by sudden breaks in the rock, resulting in sudden increases in luminosity.
The SMART project is part of the Southwest Europe Fireball and Meteor Network (SWEMN Network), a research network coordinated by the IAA-CSIC. Its primary objective is to continuously monitor the sky and study the impact of rocks from various objects in the Solar System against Earth’s atmosphere.
This recent fireball sighting highlights the importance of projects like SMART and SWEMN Network in understanding and studying celestial events that occur around Earth.