Hundreds of people witnessed the unusual astronomical phenomenon that took place on Tuesday morning. A large daytime fireball illuminated the sky at approximately 7:46 a.m. from Iparralde (the Basque Country), passing through Lleida, Tarragona, Barcelona, ??Castellón, Murcia, Almería, Seville and Teruel, to other points in the Valencian Community, and points of the Pyrenees. The phenomenon that has generated a stir on social networks.
Josep Trigo, coordinator of the Bolide and Meteorite Research Network (SPMN)-CSIC, pointed out that this event was “a widely observed comet that after its complete ablation in the atmosphere has left no trace.” Trigo added that the preliminary astrometric study suggests that this phenomenon has its origin in a very active swarm this year, the Nu Draconids.
These fireballs, also known as fireballs, are “masses of cosmic matter of dimensions that can be seen with the naked eye, which quickly pass through the atmosphere with the appearance of an inflamed balloon and usually burst and divide into pieces,” as defined by the RAE, causing the fall of aerolites or fragments. When they can be seen, they usually generate fascination among astronomy fans.
The Spanish Research Network on Firefighters and Meteorites, a multidisciplinary project that is directed by the Institute of Space Sciences (CSIC-IEEC). As they point out on their website, they coordinate “meteor and fireball detection cameras from professional and amateur observatories with the aim of estimating the origin in the Solar System of the rocks that produce such luminous phenomena.”
From the project, which receives “subsidies from public and private organizations, especially interested in promoting planetary science studies” in Spain, three meteorites have been “recovered: Villalbeto de la Peña, Puerto Lápice and Traspena.” In addition, as they explain, they also participated in “the characterization of other meteorites such as: Ardón, Berduc and Cali, among others.”
