On Limb Observations of Bolides

Abstract

The LP/OMPS limb sensor of the Suomi satellite detected the atmospheric trace of the Chelyabinsk superbolide with an energy of over 400 kt TNT in 2013. The study of LP/OMPS data shows that it detects several bolides with much less energy each year. The paper considers the cases of observation of three bolides in 2016–2017: on February 6, 2016 (13 kt), March 3, 2016 (0.19 kt), and March 9, 2017 (1 kt). The possibility of improving the detection of bolides using a limb sensor in the form of a microsatellite with an increased number of observation regions along the horizon is discussed. Several such microsatellites will be able to track most of the bodies larger than a meter that burn up in the atmosphere of the Earth or Mars.