Bright fireball lights up night sky over Spain, meteorites likely in Cuenca

A bright fireball was recorded over Spain at 21:03 UTC (23:03 LT) on May 29, 2024, caused by a meteoroid from an asteroid entering Earth’s atmosphere at 57 000 km/h (35 400 mph). The fireball was seen over the province of Cuenca.

A bright fireball, nearly as bright as the full Moon, was recorded over Spain at 21:03 UTC on May 29. The phenomenon, widely reported by casual eyewitnesses on social networks, was caused by a meteoroid from an asteroid entering Earth’s atmosphere at approximately 57 000 km/h (35 400 mph).

The fireball appeared over the province of Cuenca, beginning its descent at an altitude of about 84 km (52 miles) above the locality of Saelices. It moved in a northwest direction and concluded its visible path at a height of around 21 km (13 miles) over the locality of Huelves.

Preliminary analyses indicate that while most of the meteoroid was destroyed during its atmospheric entry, pieces of it survived and landed as meteorites, weighing only a few grams.

This celestial event was recorded as part of the SMART project, operated by the Southwestern Europe Meteor Network (SWEMN) and analyzed by a team led by Dr. Jose M. Madiedo from the Institute of Astrophysics of Andalusia (IAA-CSIC). The recording stations that documented the fireball were located in Ayora (Valencia), La Hita (Toledo), Calar Alto, Sierra Nevada, and Olocau (Valencia).

The event comes just 12 days after an exceptionally bright fireball over Spain and Portugal — at 22:46 UTC on May 18.

The May 18 meteor was described as unreal, massive, and a once-in-a-lifetime event. See the videos below:

Featured image: Fireball over Cuenca, Spain on May 29, 2024. Credit: Meteoroides (stillshot)