Part of the asteroid passed through the atmosphere before completely disintegrating. While the possibility that it was a rocket or the remains of a Starlink satellite was considered, the object that flew over Catalonia and the Balearic Islands on Friday evening was a sparkling fireball.
On Friday, March 29, at 11:59 p.m., in the middle of Holy Week, the object flew over the northeastern part of the peninsula and the Balearic Islands. His brilliant trail was recorded and photographed by many astronomy enthusiasts.
The Institute of Space Sciences’ Meteor and Fire Research Network (SPMN) initially suspected that it could be a ballistic missile like the one discovered in the Bay of Biscay last November after military tests in France.
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Network scientists then quickly ruled out this possibility and proposed two hypotheses related to the origin of this vehicle, designated SPMN290324ART.
One of them is the return of a man-made object to Earth’s orbit, for example the remains of a satellite or a space rocket, since this is possible thanks to the recorded speed. The CSIC itself issued a statement highlighting this option, and even the German Air Force clarified that it could be billionaire Elon Musk’s StarLink satellite.
ARTIFICIAL BOLID #SPMN290324ART OVER THE MEDITERRANEAN LAST NIGHT at 10:59 p.m. TUC (11:59 p.m. CET). Been studying it ever since @ice_csic To find out its origin, we decided to use a ballistic missile.
📹Cèsar Guasch @MeteoSantMateu
from Sant Mateu, #Castelló/#Castellón.
🔜🔖 pic.twitter.com/yFYHpzow8L— Bolide and Meteorite Research Network (SPMN) (@RedSpmn) March 30, 2024
However, in the same CSIC statement, ICE astrophysicist Josep Maria Trigo and coordinator of the SPMN points to another possibility: “Precise measurements of the object’s speed during ablation in the atmosphere will allow us to elucidate its specific nature and, in particular, whether it could be a more unusual gliding car.“.
Finally, the second hypothesis was the correct one. After analyzing the orbit and available data, researchers identified one such object: a piece of asteroid that completely disintegrated after entering Earth’s atmosphere.
Neither space junk nor rocket
“It wasn’t a piece of space junk – a rocket or a satellite – and certainly not a rocket.“clarified José María Madiedo, from the Institute of Astrophysics of Andalusia (IAA-CSIC) and director of the Fire and Meteor Network of Southwest Europe, which participated in the study of the phenomenon.
According to the expert, this object is “one hundred percent” a sliding car, the name comes from the type of trajectory along which it moves almost tangentially “sliding” in the atmosphere. Its origin is a rock, a piece of asteroid, technically a meteorite, which heats up and glows due to friction when it enters the atmosphere.
The light emitted by this glow is called a fireball or bolide in astronomy, in this case a grazer. The ICE network now also claims this in the “Meteors” of the University of Málaga and the Astronomical Society of Málaga.
The piece of asteroid could be observed almost vertically over Perpignan in France and then flew over Girona towards the Balearic Islands. Near this archipelago it disappeared and completely dissolved into the Earth’s atmosphere. According to Madiedo, no part fell into the sea.
Rare asteroid chunk
Astrophysicists recall that fireballs are common, although streaking fireballs are far rarer.
This particular event had “little scientific significance” but was taken seriously due to the “context” and initial confusion.
The Space Surveillance and Operations Center (COVE) also confirmed this Monday that it was a meteorite, as announced by Defense Secretary Margarita Robles during a visit by the Ministry of Aerospace to the Aerospace Center’s facilities. at the Torrejón de Ardoz air base (Madrid), responsible for the monitoring and control of all space objects that pass through our atmosphere.
With information from: