16 Jun, 2021 @ 13:45
1 min read

WATCH: Slow motion fireball glitter over Spain’s Malaga

Slow Fireball Credit Twitter
WATCH: Spectacular fireball 'as bright as a full moon' streak across Andalucian skies

A SPECTACULAR fireball was spotted gliding over the south of Spain this Monday night.

The fireball was recorded on by the SMART project detectors from the astronomical observatories of Sevilla, La Sagra (Granada), La Hita (Toledo), Sierra Nevada (Granada), and Calar Alto (Almeria), after entering the atmosphere at a speed of 50,000 kilometres per hour.

The rock hit the atmosphere at about 23:33 local time on Monday night and generated a fireball that began at an altitude of about 83 km over the southwest of the province of Malaga, and ended at a height of around 38 km over the east of the province of Sevilla.

The event was analysed by the principal investigator of the SMART project, Dr. Jose M. Madiedo, from the Institute of Astrophysics of Andalusia (IAA-CSIC).

According to Madiedo, the fireball was particularly striking because of its relatively slow speed, as it entered the Earth’s atmosphere at about 50,000 kilometres per hour, which allowed many people to see it in detail.

“Normally this is not the case, as these are very fast phenomena that happen in the blink of an eye. But it was spectacular in the sense of its brightness and the explosions along the trajectory.” he said.

“In addition, people could clearly see how the rock was breaking up into smaller fragments that were left behind.” Madiedo added.

Another peculiarity about this particular fireball is that it was generated by a rock from the potentially hazardous asteroid 2004HW.

According to astronomers, a potentially hazardous object (PHO) is a near-Earth object – either an asteroid or a comet – with an orbit that can make close approaches to the Earth and is larger than 140 metres in diameter and if they were to hit the Earth, they could cause significant damage.

“But what hit the atmosphere was a rock that came off the asteroid, not the asteroid itself.” Madiedo explained.

“And that rock was completely destroyed in the atmosphere before it hit the ground because the Earth’s atmosphere acts as a shield to protect us from these impacts. So there has been no risk situation,” he added.

Madiedo then shared an image of its trajectory on twitter.

The rock entered the atmosphere over Malaga at 50,000 km/h. It was completely destroyed when it was 38 km above the province of Seville, without posing any risk. The image shows its trajectory.

READ MORE:

Cristina Hodgson

Half English, half Spanish animal person. Cristina loves writing about all things fitness, travel and culture, she is also a script writer and novelist. When she's not typing away, you can find her enjoying outdoor sports somewhere off the beaten track in Andalucia. If you have a story get in touch! newsdesk@theolivepress.es

Leave a Reply

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.

Chorizo 2314640 1920 656x368
Previous Story

Listeria warning in Spanish chorizo issued by European Food Alert Network

Gypsy, 20, is acquitted after raping and impregnating a 12-year-old girl in Spain because ‘it’s part of their culture’
Next Story

Man gets jail term for stealing identity of dead migrant to get work on the Costa Blanca in Spain

Latest from Lead

Go toTop

More From The Olive Press

2 bedroom Apartment for sale in Marbella with pool - € 425

2 bedroom Apartment for sale in Marbella with pool – € 425,000

Apartment Marbella, Málaga   2 beds   1 baths €

Erste Leptospirose-Fälle in den Überschwemmungsgebieten Valencias lassen Seuchen befürchten

von Alex Trelinski Die Gesundheitsbehörden in Valencia haben zwei wahrscheinliche