Bright Fireballs Associated with the Potentially Hazardous Asteroid 2007LQ19

TL;DR

This study analyzes bright fireballs linked to the potentially hazardous asteroid 2007LQ19, revealing their chemical nature, orbital similarities, and potential common origin with the asteroid over thousands of years.

Contribution

First spectral analysis of fireballs associated with PHA 2007LQ19, suggesting a possible common progenitor or parent body based on orbital evolution.

Findings

Fireballs likely linked to July rho-Herculid stream

Spectral clues about meteoroid composition

Orbital similarity over 8,000 years

Abstract

We analyze here two very bright fireballs produced by the ablation in the atmosphere of two large meteoroids in 2009 and 2010. These slow-moving and deep-penetrating events were observed over Spain in the framework of our Spanish Fireball Network continuous meteor monitoring campaign. The analysis of the emission spectrum imaged for one of these fireballs has provided the first clues about the chemical nature of the progenitor meteoroids. The orbital parameters of these particles suggests a likely association with the recently identified July rho-Herculid meteoroid stream. In addition, considerations about the likely parent body of this stream are also made on the basis of orbital dissimilarity criteria. This orbital analysis reveals that both meteoroids and PHA 2007LQ19 exhibit a similar evolution during a time period of almost 8,000 years, which suggests that either this NEO is the potential parent of these particles or that this NEO and both meteoroids had a common progenitor in the past.