English (UK)
On the night of March 16th 2024, at 01h54 UT, a big and bright fireball was observed on the mid part of Portugal.
This event was registered with the SMART Project’s detectors operated at Calar Alto (Almería), Sierra Nevada (Granada), La Sagra (Granada), Huelva, La Hita (Toledo) and Seville observatories.
Also two of the external cameras of Calar Alto Observatory in Almería, could record this nice object.
Following the preliminary analysis carried out by Professor José María Madiedo (Instituto de Astrofísica de Andalucía IAA-CSIC), PI of the SMART Project, the data extracted from this fireball can be resumed in:
- Final altitude: 19 km
It is important to mention that part of this object reached the ground in form of a meteorite.
The image on the top-right shows the path this object followed above Portugal ground.
Below are the videos registered with Calar Alto Observatory external cameras.
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.