Near earth object 2012XJ112 as a source of bright bolides of achondritic nature

We analyze the likely link between the recently discovered Near Earth Object 2012XJ112 and a bright fireball observed over the south of Spain on December 27, 2012. The bolide, with an absolute magnitude of -9±1, was simultaneously imaged during the morning twilight from two meteor stations operated...

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Detalles Bibliográficos
Autores: Madiedo Gil, José María, Trigo Rodríguez, Josep María, Williams, I. P., Konovalova, N., Ortiz Moreno, José Luis, Castro Tirado, Alberto J., Pastor, S., Reyes, J. A. de los, Cabrera Caño, Jesús
Tipo de recurso: artículo
Fecha de publicación:2014
País:España
Institución:Universidad de Huelva (UHU)
Repositorio:Arias Montano. Repositorio Institucional de la Universidad de Huelva
Idioma:inglés
OAI Identifier:oai:ariasmontano.uhu.es:10272/9295
Acceso en línea:http://hdl.handle.net/10272/9295
Access Level:acceso abierto
Palabra clave:Meteorites
Meteors
Meteoroids
Minor planets
Asteroids
Descripción
Sumario:We analyze the likely link between the recently discovered Near Earth Object 2012XJ112 and a bright fireball observed over the south of Spain on December 27, 2012. The bolide, with an absolute magnitude of -9±1, was simultaneously imaged during the morning twilight from two meteor stations operated by the SPanish Meteor Network (SPMN). It was also observed by several casual witnesses. The emission spectrum produced during the ablation of the meteoroid in the atmosphere was also recorded. From its analysis the chemical nature of this particle was inferred. Although our orbital association software identified several potential parent bodies for this meteoroid, the analysis of the evolution of the orbital elements performed with the Mercury 6 symplectic integrator supports the idea that NEO 2012XJ112 is the source of this meteoroid. The implications of this potential association are discussed here. In particular, the meteoroid bulk chemistry is consistent with a basaltic achondrite, and this emphasizes the importance to deduce from future Earth approaches the reflectance spectrum and taxonomic nature of 2012XJ112.