Bright fireball over Sao Paulo, Brazil
A bright fireball streaked through the night sky over the state of São Paulo, Brazil at 00:35 UTC on December 16, 2020. The event was recorded by several BRAMON (Bramon Brazilian Meteor Observation Network) cameras as well as residents. The event lasted up to 11 seconds.
Preliminary analysis indicates that the space rock reached the Earth’s atmosphere at an angle of 18.6 ° to the ground, at a speed of 13.52 km/s (34 400 km/h).
It became visible at a height of 60.8 km (37.7 miles), close to the border between Minas Gerais, São Paulo and Mato Grosso do Sul, BRAMON's Alexsandro Mota noted.
It went east for 11.6 seconds, until it disappeared at a height of 25.3 km (15.7 miles) southwest from the municipality of Votuporanga, in São Paulo.
At its peak of brightness, the meteor reached a magnitude of -9.5.
"The number itself indicates that it was very luminous, about 100 times brighter than the planet Venus. Meteors brighter than Venus are also called fireballs," Mota said.
The trajectory of a fireball over Brazil on December 16, 2020. Credit: BRAMON
Featured image credit: BRAMON
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