A fireball illuminates the Iberian Peninsula with a brightness greater than that of the full moon

An fireball with a brightness greater than that of the full moon It surprised thousands of people on the night of Sunday, November 2, when it crossed the sky of southwestern Europe at 20 pmThe phenomenon was visible from wide areas of Spain and Portugaland was recorded by multiple astronomical observatories of the project Smart, dependent on Institute of Astrophysics of Andalucía (IAA-CSIC).

According to the astrophysicist's analysis José María Madiedo, researcher at the IAA and head of the Southwest Europe Meteor and Fireball Network, the origin of the meteor was a fragment of a comet which impacted the Earth's atmosphere at a speed of 81.000 kilometers per hourUpon contact with the air at that speed, the material incandescence from friction, reaching thousands of degrees Celsius and emitting a light so intense that it could be observed hundreds of kilometers away.

The trajectory of the bolide began at about 97 kilometers above Lousa, in the Portuguese district of Castelo Branco, and advanced northwest until it disintegrated 43 kilometers high above Amiozinho, in the district of CoimbraDuring its journey, of approximately 80 kilometersThe meteor presented a final explosion as it abruptly fragmented, causing a sudden and even brighter flash before it went out.

Madiedo explained that this type of event “They allow us to study the composition of the smaller bodies in the Solar System without the need to send probes"Since the Smart project's high-sensitivity cameras and spectrographs record the light emitted by materials during their disintegration, making it easier to identify their origin."

A discovery recorded by the CSIC's Smart network

The phenomenon was detected simultaneously by the project's observatories Smart, located in Huelva, Mazagón, La Hita (Toledo), Calar Alto, Sierra Nevada, La Sagra (Granada) and SevilleThis high-tech network, managed by the CSICIts mission is continuously monitor the sky from southwestern Europe to study the entry of meteors, asteroids and comet fragments into the Earth's atmosphere.

Each observation station has high-sensitivity camerascapable of recording even events that go unnoticed by the human eye. The data obtained is automatically cross-referenced between different observatories, allowing the reconstruction of the trajectory, speed and orbital origin of the object. In this case, the coincidence of the measurements confirmed its cometary origin, differentiating it from the rocky meteoroids typical of asteroids.

The system of SWEMN Network (South-West Europe Meteor Network), coordinated from the Institute of Astrophysics of Andalusia, has become an essential tool for monitoring near-Earth spacecontributing both to scientific research and to early detection of potentially dangerous objects.

A scientific window into the origin of the Solar System

Fireballs like the one on November 2nd offer unique information about the planetary formation processesThe cometary fragments that originate them are primitive remains from the birth of the Solar System, and its study helps to understand the composition of the materials that gave rise to Earth and other planets more than 4.500 billion years ago.

"Each event of this kind is an opportunity to learn more about our own origins“,” Madiedo explains.When a fragment of a comet enters the atmosphere, it not only produces a visual spectacle: it also releases clues about the chemistry of the early cosmos.".

Spectroscopic analysis of the bolide will allow us to determine its elemental compositionThis will help confirm whether it belongs to a known meteor stream or is an isolated fragment. According to the IAA, preliminary results point to a high proportion of volatile compounds, typical of carbon-rich cometary materials.

In addition to their scientific interest, these events reinforce the importance of citizen scienceDozens of people managed to record the fireball from different parts of Spain. The images sent to the Smart network help to... triangulating the position and trajectory of the phenomenon, complementing the records of professional observatories.

Spain, a natural laboratory for deep-sky astronomy

The Iberian Peninsula, thanks to its geographical location and its network of observatories, has become a reference point for the study of meteors and bolidesSince its inception, the Smart project has registered thousands of light events, including fireballs that have allowed the recovery of meteorites on Earth.

The researchers of IAA-CSIC They point out that phenomena like the one on November 2nd help to to raise awareness about the importance of astronomy and the protection of the night skyespecially against light pollution and satellite interference.Science and the beauty of the sky are more connected than we think: every flash is a reminder that Earth continues to receive messages from the cosmos.“,” Madiedo concluded.