Advancements in Near Real-Time Bolide Detection: Continuum Calibration, Altitude Estimation, and Velocity Approximation Using NOAA GOES GLM Data

Authors

Eric McKinney, Space Dynamics Laboratory
Ryan Frazier, Space Dynamics Laboratory
John Pratt, Space Dynamics Laboratory
Mike Larsen, Space Dynamics Laboratory
Philip Nelson, Space Dynamics Laboratory
Hans Gunther, Space Dynamics Laboratory

Document Type

Presentation

Publisher

Space Dynamics Laboratory

Publication Date

3-13-2025

Journal Article Version

Version of Record

First Page

1

Last Page

16

Abstract

• Bolides, also known as fireballs, are a class of meteoroids that explosively break up and release large amounts of energy as they enter the Earth’s atmosphere

• While inherently of scientific value, bolides that occur over populous areas can result in alarm and, on rare occasions, terrestrial damage

• Thus, rapid bolide detection and characterization systems are advantageous for the scientific community, public interest, and political de-escalation efforts

• Jenniskens et al. (2018) and Rumpf et al. (2019) showed that the Geostationary Lightning Mapper (GLM) sensor onboard the NOAA Geostationary Operational Environmental Satellite (GOES) satellites can detect bolide signatures

• This presentation complements a previous presentation (McKinney et al. 2024) involving a machine-learning component called the ROCKET filter (Dempster et al. 2020, 2021 and Tan et al. 2022)

Recommended Citation

McKinney, Eric; Frazier, Ryan; Pratt, John; Larsen, Mike; Nelson, Philip; and Gunther, Hans, "Advancements in Near Real-Time Bolide Detection: Continuum Calibration, Altitude Estimation, and Velocity Approximation Using NOAA GOES GLM Data" (2025). Space Dynamics Laboratory Publications. Paper 345.
https://digitalcommons.usu.edu/sdl_pubs/345