Fifth fireball registered from Calar Alto Observatory in one week

Without any doubt, this week is being very prolific with fireballs. In fact, we are within the maximum of Leonids shower. During November 18th 2017 night, at 4:35 localtime (3:35 UT), another bright fireball, the fifth one this week, flew over Andalucía (South Spain) and could be registered with both the detectors of the SMART Project and with the external West surveillance system operated at Calar Alto Observatory (Almería). In this case, the event was also detected at La Hita (Toledo), La Sagra (Granada), Huelva and Sevilla Observatories.

The left image, registered with the West detector of the SMART Project operated at Calar Alto Observatory, the emission spectrum of this fireball is clearly shown.

Following the preliminary analysis carried out by the SMAR Project PI, Professor José María Madiedo from University of Huelva, the phenomena observed last night was similar to the one registered on previous night. A fragment detached from Tempel-Tuttle comet with an approximate speed of about 260.000 km/h, entered our atmosphera and produced the fireball. The luminous part of the event started at an altitude of about 133 km above Jaén province. The object then moved northwestward and finished at about 83 km of altitude above Córdoba province.

You can see the path above the ground this object followed when travelling through the center part of Andalucía (South Spain) on next image.

And below are the videos recorded with the external surveillance west webcam and with SMART Project west detector, both located and operated at Calar Alto Observatory.

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.