Meteorites expected after intensely bright fireball sighted over Toledo, Spain
Image credit: JM Madiedo (stillshot)
A fireball brighter than the full Moon was observed over Toledo, Spain at 19:28 UTC (21:28 LT) on April 2, 2023. Numerous casual eyewitnesses reported the event on social networks.
This impressive fireball was created by a meteoroid from an asteroid that collided with the atmosphere at a speed of 49 000 km/h (30 447 mph). The event unfolded over Madrid and Toledo, beginning at an altitude of approximately 88 km (54.7 miles) over Torrejón de Velasco (Madrid), moving southwest, and finally ending at a height of around 24 km (14.9 miles) over Argés (province of Toledo).
The meteor was recorded as part of the SMART project, operated by the Southwestern Europe Meteor Network (SWEMN). The meteor-observing stations at Huelva, La Hita (Toledo), Calar Alto, Sierra Nevada, La Sagra (Granada), Sevilla, and El Aljarafe (Sevilla) contributed to the observations.
Preliminary analysis of the incident made by Dr. Jose M. Madiedo, from the Institute of Astrophysics of Andalusia (IAA-CSIC), the principal investigator of the SMART project, indicates that the meteoroid was not destroyed during its passage through the atmosphere. Instead, parts of it survived and reached the ground as meteorites.
I'm a dedicated researcher, journalist, and editor at The Watchers. With over 20 years of experience in the media industry, I specialize in hard science news, focusing on extreme weather, seismic and volcanic activity, space weather, and astronomy, including near-Earth objects and planetary defense strategies. You can reach me at teo /at/ watchers.news.
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