Very bright fireball over southern Spain, meteorites likely

A very bright fireball was recorded over southern Spain at 20:25 UTC on September 15, 2021, with parts of it likely surviving the entry. The event lasted about 8 seconds and was seen by a wide number of people across the country.

The high temperature reached during its atmospheric entry gave rise to a fireball that began at a height of around 91 km (56 miles) over the province of Badajoz.

The fireball moved northwest and ended at a height of about 22 km (13 miles) above the same province.

The preliminary analysis by the principal investigator of the SMART project: Dr. Jose M. Madiedo, from the Institute of Astrophysics of Andalusia (IAA-CSIC), shows that the rock was not fully destroyed — a small part of the object could survive and reach the ground as a meteorite.

The event was recorded in the framework of the SMART project, operated by the Southwestern Europe Meteor Network (SWEMN), from the meteor-observing stations located at the astronomical observatories of Calar Alto (Almería), Sierra Nevada (Granada), La Sagra, La Hita, and Sevilla.

Featured image credit: Meteoroides