Fireballs
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Amazing meteor fireball over central Spain (Oct. 6)

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This stunning bolide was spotted over Spain on October 6, at0:19local time (equivalent to 22:19universal time). It was as bright as the full Moon. The fireball was observed by a wide number of casual eyewitnesses, who reported it on social networks. The event was generated by a rock (a meteoroid) from an asteroid that hit the atmosphere at about 85,000 km/h. The fireball overflew the province of Cuenca (Spain).

It began at an altitude of about 90 km above the locality of Palomares del Campo (province of Cuenca), moved northwest, and ended at a height of around 26 km above the locality of Huete (province of Cuenca). This bright meteor was recorded in the framework of the SMART project, operated by the Southwestern Europe Meteor Network (SWEMN) from the meteor-observing stations located at Huelva, La Hita, Sierra Nevada, La Sagra, Sevilla, and Faro de Cullera.


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Meteor fireball over Virginia and other states on October 7

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We received 12 reports about a fireball seen over DC, MD, NJ and VA on Friday, October 7th 2022 around 01:05 UT.

For this event, we received one video.


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Meteor fireball over Oklahoma and over states on October 6

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We received 96 reports about a fireball seen over AR, IA, KS, LA, MO, MS, OK and TX on Thursday, October 6th 2022 around 10:53 UT.

For this event, we received one video.


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Meteor fireball over Ontario, Quebec and northeast US on October 3

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© Rick Needham
We received 16 reports about a fireball seen over ME, NH, NY, Ontario, Québec, Quebec and VT on Monday, October 3rd 2022 around 23:49 UT.

For this event, we received one video and one photo.


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Meteor fireball over England and the Netherlands on October 2

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© Peter M
We received 7 reports about a fireball seen over England, Gelderland and Vlaams Gewest on Sunday, October 2nd 2022 around 23:53 UT.

For this event, we received 2 videos and 2 photos.


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Meteor fireball over Gulf of Cadiz, Spain on October 4

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You don't have to be a fan of astronomy for one's eyes to light up when seeing a celestial phenomenon. Without prior warning, at 9.04pm on Tuesday 4 October, a fireball crossed the sky over Andalucía and Extremadura. Although it was visible in all provinces it was especially prominent in Malaga, Granada, Seville and Cordoba.

The fireball flew over the Gulf of Cadiz, but it was so bright that it could be seen from more than 700 km away.

The astronomical event was confirmed by the researcher responsible for the SMART project, the astrophysicist José María Madiedo, from the Institute of Astrophysics of Andalusia IAA-CSIC.

This type of phenomenon occurs when rocks enter the Earth's atmosphere at high speed, which in this case reached 69,000 km/h. The violent friction with the Earth's atmosphere at this enormous speed causes the rock's surface to heat up to a temperature of several thousand degrees Celsius and become incandescent, thus generating a ball of fire. The rock was completely destroyed in the atmosphere, so no fragments fell into the sea.


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First probable impact crater discovered in Spain

Impact Crater Spain
© Sánchez-Garrido et al 2022. Basemap: Instituto Geográfico Nacional (IGN). License: CC-BY 4.0.Location of the crater centre and 20 kilometre radius of the area affected by the impact in the Alhabia-Tabernas basin.
The first probable impact crater in Spain has been identified in the southern province of Almeria. The discovery was presented last week at the Europlanet Science Congress (EPSC) 2022 by Juan Antonio Sánchez Garrido of the University of Almeria.

While around 200 impact structures have been identified around the world, the study is the first to identify signs of an impact crater on the Iberian Peninsula. The discovery is the result of 15 years of research by an international team of scientists from the University of Almeria, the Astrobiology Center of Madrid, the University of Lund and the University of Copenhagen.

Prof Sánchez Garrido said: "We believe that the impact event occurred around 8 million years ago. We have investigated numerous aspects of the geology, minerology, geochemistry and geomorphology of the region. The basins of Alhabia and Tabernas in the area are filled with sediments dating back between 5 and 23 million years, and they overlie older metamorphic rocks. Much of the impact structure is buried by more modern sediments, but erosion has exposed it and opened up the opportunity for studies."

The crater itself is thought to be about 4 kilometres in diameter, and it is surrounded by a larger structure about 20 kilometres across where the impact caused the sedimentary strata to collapse.

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Meteor fireball over Malaga, Spain on September 27

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A fireball hurtled across the Malaga night sky in the province in the early hours of this Tuesday morning, after entering the Earth's atmosphere at 60,000 kilometres an hour and travelling almost parallel to the ground.

José María Madiedo, a researcher at the Andalusian Institute of Astrophysics and the astrophysicist who heads the SMART project, said the rock had come from an asteroid.

This type of rock which enters the atmosphere at great speed is called a meteoroid. When it collides with the air, its surface heats up and it becomes incandescent, turning it into a fireball.


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Meteor fireball over California on September 23

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© Robert Lunsford (University of Arizona)
We received 11 reports about a fireball seen over CA on Thursday, September 22nd 2022 around 03:35 UT.

For this event, we received one video and one photo.


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Meteor fireball over the UK and Ireland on September 14

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© Paul M.
We received 876 reports about a fireball seen over County Carlow, County Cavan, County Clare, County Cork, County Donegal, County Dublin, County Galway, County Kilkenny, County Leitrim, County Limerick, County Louth, County Mayo, County Sligo, County Tipperary, County Waterford, County Wexford, County Wicklow, England and No on Wednesday, September 14th 2022 around 20:58 UT.

For this event, we received 10 videos and 4 photos.