A Perseid seen from Calar Alto Observatory last August 8th


We are in the peak days of the Perseids. As an example, last night of August 8, at 22h41 UT, a very bright one was registerd with the SMART Project’s detectors operated at Calar Alto Observatory (Almería), La Hita (Toledo), Sierra Nevada (Granada), La Sagra (Granada), Huelva and Seville observatories.

This fireball was also followed with one of the external cameras located at Calar Alto Observatory in Almería.

The main data revealed by the preliminary analysis carried out by Professor José María Madiedo (Instituto de Astrofísica de Granada IAA-CSIC), PI of the SMART Project, are the next:

  • Type of event: cometary
  • Initial speed: 216.000 km/h
  • Initial altitude: 118 km
  • Final altitude: 77km

Below is the video of the external camera at Calar Alto Observatory in Almería.


Calar Alto (CAHA) fireball detection station, together with the one at the Observatory of Sierra Nevada (IAA-CSIC) and others placed at different locations in Spain, are part of the S.M.A.R.T. project led by Professor José María Madiedo (IAA) to track that kind of objects. Specifically, Calar Alto (CAHA) station and the one at Sierra Nevada (IAA-CSIC) constitute a collaboration agreement between the IAA researcher José María Madiedo and both institutions.