New methodology to determine the terminal height of a fireball

TL;DR

This paper introduces a new method for estimating fireball terminal heights, which depend on meteoroid properties, improving impact hazard predictions for small to medium-sized bodies.

Contribution

The authors developed and tested a novel approach to interpret fireball terminal heights, enhancing understanding of meteoroid atmospheric behavior and impact risk assessment.

Findings

The new methodology accurately predicts meteoroid deepening in the atmosphere.

It improves impact hazard forecasting for small to meter-sized meteoroids.

The approach was validated using historical fireball data from MORP.

Abstract

Despite ablation and drag processes associated with atmospheric entry of meteoroids were a subject of intensive study over the last century, little attention was devoted to interpret the observed fireball terminal height. This is a key parameter because it not only depends on the initial mass, but also on the bulk physical properties of the meteoroids and hence of their ability to ablate in the atmosphere. In this work we have developed a new approach that is tested using the fireball terminal heights observed by the Meteorite Observation and Recovery Project operated in Canada between 1970-1985 (hereafter referred as MORP). We then compare them to the calculation made. Our results clearly show that the new methodology is able to forecast the degree of deepening of meteoroids in the Earth's atmosphere. Then, this approach has important applications in predicting the impact hazard from cm- to meter-sized bodies that are represented, in part, in the MORP bolide list.