Spectroscopy of a \kappa-Cygnid fireball afterglow

TL;DR

This study analyzes a bright -kappa Cygnid fireball, detailing its trajectory, orbit, and spectral emissions, revealing a chondritic parent meteoroid and capturing its afterglow spectrum over time.

Contribution

It provides the first detailed spectral analysis of a -kappa Cygnid fireball and its afterglow, linking spectral features to meteoroid composition.

Findings

The fireball belonged to the -kappa Cygnid stream.

The progenitor was likely a chondritic meteoroid.

The afterglow spectrum was recorded for about 0.7 seconds.

Abstract

A bright fireball with an absolute magnitude of -10.5 $\pm$ 0.5 was recorded over the South of Spain on August 15, 2012. The atmospheric trajectory, radiant and heliocentric orbit of this event are calculated. These data show that the parent meteoroid belonged to the \kappa-Cygnid meteoroid stream. The emission spectrum of this bolide, which was obtained in the wavelength range between 350 and 800 nm, suggests a chondritic nature for the progenitor meteoroid. Besides, the spectrum of the meteoric afterglow was also recorded for about 0.7 seconds. The evolution with time of the intensity of the main emission lines identified in this signal is discussed.