By Laura Kemp • Published: 15 Jan 2022 • 19:02
Today, the Astronomical Complex of La Hita in Toledo has reported that a meteorite has fallen from an asteroid in Sierra Morena, in the province of Ciudad Real. As reported by the complex in a statement, the fall of this meteorite has been recorded on January 14, at 10:27pm local time, when an impressive fireball could be seen in the night sky that crossed a long distance. The fireball reached a luminosity similar to that of the Full Moon and, due to its high brightness, it could be seen from most of the country by numerous witnesses who were in the central and southern areas. Many took to social media to announce that they had witnessed the sight.
BÓLIDO #SPMN150122 REGISTRADO ANOCHE SOBRE CIUDAD REAL a las 21h27m06s TUC. Este vídeo desde Estepa, Sevilla por Antonio J. Robles @AJ_Robles muestra su desintegración. El meteoroide sufrió múltiples fragmentaciones y su incidencia casi cenital hace difícil recuperar meteoritos🤩 pic.twitter.com/AmUMO6Omxc — Red Investigación Bólidos y Meteoritos (SPMN) (@RedSpmn) January 15, 2022
BÓLIDO #SPMN150122 REGISTRADO ANOCHE SOBRE CIUDAD REAL a las 21h27m06s TUC. Este vídeo desde Estepa, Sevilla por Antonio J. Robles @AJ_Robles muestra su desintegración. El meteoroide sufrió múltiples fragmentaciones y su incidencia casi cenital hace difícil recuperar meteoritos🤩 pic.twitter.com/AmUMO6Omxc
— Red Investigación Bólidos y Meteoritos (SPMN) (@RedSpmn) January 15, 2022
It was also recorded by the detectors of the Red de Bolides y Meteoros del Suroeste de Europa (Red SWEMN,) which operates in the Toledo Astronomical Complex, which work within the framework of the SMART Project coordinated by the Institute of Astrophysics of Andalucia (IAA-CSIC.) Its aim is to continuously monitor the sky to record and study the impact of rocks from different objects in the solar system against the Earth’s atmosphere. The fireball has been analysed by the researcher responsible for the SMART Project, astrophysicist Jose Maria Madiedo, from the Institute of Astrophysics of Andalucia (IAA-CSIC,) who has highlighted that the phenomenon occurred when entering the Earth’s atmosphere at a speed of about 30,000 miles per hour. The rock came from an asteroid that intersects with the Earth’s orbit and is called a “meteoroid.” The sudden friction of the rock with the atmosphere at this enormous speed caused the rock (the meteoroid) to become incandescent, generating a fireball that began at an altitude of about 86 kilometres above the village of Ventillas (southwest of the province of Ciudad Real.) From there it moved in an easterly direction and became extinct at an altitude of about 23 kilometres above Sierra Morena, almost above the vertical of the village of Las Tiñosas (Ciudad Real.) The great luminosity that this fireball reached meant that it could be seen from more than 500 kilometres away. The astrophysicist has reported that, in total, the fireball travelled about 63 kilometres through the atmosphere. Another important result of this preliminary analysis is that the rock was not completely destroyed in the atmosphere and that a small part of it would have survived, falling to the ground in Sierra Morena in the form of a meteorite.
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Originally from UK, Laura is based in Axarquia and is a writer for the Euro Weekly News covering news and features. Got a news story you want to share? Then get in touch at editorial@euroweeklynews.com.
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