The BRAMON’s team of analysts has calculated the trajectory of yet another great meteor. This time the fireball was seen on the afternoon of February 8 in southern Australia and was recorded by two dashcams in cities of Melbourne and Drysdale.
Near Grampians National Park, there was also an sonic-boom, which indicates that there was a fragmentation near the ground.
Encouraged by our friend Ravi Jagtiani, we resolved to find a solution to this meteor trajectory. Although the two videos were recorded in nearby cities, the availability of information (collected by Ravi) about each video allowed a precise analysis of the direction of the meteor at each observation point.
The result of this work, with a very small margin of error, is the trajectory shown below:
The meteor appeared 75 km above Victoria Valley, near the Grampians National Park and traveled 62 km in atmosphere at a speed of 30 km/s until it exploded to 27.26 km above the rural area of the town of Willaura, near the crossing of the Mortlake Ararat Road with the Delacomb Way.
Trajectory calculated by BRAMON
Detail of trajectory calculated by BRAMON
Orbit
From the data obtained with the triangulation and the duration of the meteor, it was also possible to calculate the meteoroid orbit before the impact with Earth atmosphere. It is an object coming from the Main Asteroid Belt and with perihelion internal to Mercury orbit.
Calculated orbit
Meteorites
Due to the final altitude and the intense luminosity with which the meteor was perceived, we believe that there are meteorites in the area between Willaura and Mininera. It is a predominantly rural area, very good for meteorites search.
Trajectory calculated by BRAMON
