Asteroid fireball crosses Alboran Sea at 77,000 km/h

A bright fireball of asteroidal origin crossed the sky over the Alboran Sea during the early hours of Sunday, August 23. The object entered the Earth's atmosphere at an initial speed of approximately 77,000 kilometers per hour.

According to preliminary analysis by Professor José María Madiedo of the Institute of Astrophysics of Andalusia (IAA-CSIC), the phenomenon began at an altitude of about 87 kilometers and followed a southwest-to-northeast trajectory. The visible phase concluded at an altitude of roughly 28 kilometers over the Mediterranean Sea.

The event was recorded by the SMART Project, which utilizes detectors located at various stations across Spain, including Calar Alto in Almería, Sierra Nevada and La Sagra in Granada, Mazagón and Huelva, and Sevilla. Two external cameras at the Calar Alto Astronomical Observatory also tracked the object's path.