Stunning fireball over Morocco (Jan. 30) // Impresionante bola de fuego sobre Marruecos (30 enero)

This stunning bolide was spotted over Spain on January 30, at 3:16 local time (equivalent to 2:16 universal time). It was as bright as the full Moon. The event was generated by a rock (a meteoroid) from a comet that hit the atmosphere at about 255,000 km/h. The fireball overflew Morocco. It began at an altitude of about 146 km over Oulad Sidi Abd el Hakem (east of Morocco), moved northwest, and ended at a height of around 62 km over Tafersit (northeast of Morocco). 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 Calar Alto, Sierra Nevada, Sevilla, La Sagra (Granada), Huelva, El Aljarafe, and La Hita (Toledo). The event has been analyzed by the principal investigator of the SMART project: Dr. Jose M. Madiedo, from the Institute of Astrophysics of Andalusia (IAA-CSIC). ----------------------------------------------- Esta gran bola de fuego cruzó el cielo nocturno en la noche del 30