The Winchcombe Fireball -- that Lucky Survivor
Sarah McMullan, Denis Vida, Hadrien A. R. Devillepoix, Jim Rowe, Luke, Daly, Ashley J. King, Martin Cup\'ak, Robert M. Howie, Eleanor K. Sansom,, Patrick Shober, Martin C. Towner, Seamus Anderson, Luke McFadden, Jana, Hor\'ak, Andrew R. D. Smedley, Katherine H. Joy

TL;DR
The Winchcombe fireball was a rare, low-mass carbonaceous meteoroid that survived atmospheric entry due to low velocity and dynamic pressure, providing insights into the fragility and orbital history of such meteorites.
Contribution
This study reconstructs the trajectory, fragmentation, and orbit of a small, fragile carbonaceous meteoroid, revealing conditions that enable survival during atmospheric entry.
Findings
Meteoroid was about 13 kg, much smaller than typical carbonaceous falls.
Survived due to low entry velocity (13.9 km/s) and dynamic pressure (~0.6 MPa).
Orbital analysis shows it originated ~0.08 Myr ago with a perihelion >0.7 AU.
Abstract
On February 28, 2021, a fireball dropped kg of recovered CM2 carbonaceous chondrite meteorites in South-West England near the town of Winchcombe. We reconstruct the fireball's atmospheric trajectory, light curve, fragmentation behaviour, and pre-atmospheric orbit from optical records contributed by five networks. The progenitor meteoroid was three orders of magnitude less massive ( kg) than any previously observed carbonaceous fall. The Winchcombe meteorite survived entry because it was exposed to a very low peak atmospheric dynamic pressure ( MPa) due to a fortuitous combination of entry parameters, notably low velocity (13.9 km/s). A near-catastrophic fragmentation at MPa points to the body's fragility. Low entry speeds which cause low peak dynamic pressures are likely necessary conditions for a small carbonaceous meteoroid to survive atmospheric…
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Taxonomy
TopicsAstro and Planetary Science · Gamma-ray bursts and supernovae
