Detection of the large meteoroid/NEO flux using infrasound: Recent detection of the November 21, 1995 Colorado fireball

During the early morning of November 21, 1995, a fireball as bright as the full moon entered the atmosphere over southeastern Colorado and subsequently produced audible sonic boom reports from Texas to Wyoming. The event was detected locally by a security video camera which showed the reflection of the fireball event on the hood of a truck. The camera also recorded tree shadows cast by the light of the fireball. This recording includes the audio signal of a strong double boom as well. Subsequent investigation of the array near Los Alamos, New Mexico operated by the Los Alamos National Laboratory as part of its commitment to the Comprehensive Test Ban Treaty negotiations, showed the presence of an infrasonic signal from the proper direction at about the correct time for this fireball. The Los Alamos array is a four-element infrasonic array in near-continuous operation on the Laboratory property. The preliminary characteristics of the signal include the signal onset arrival time of 0939:20 UT (0239:20 MST), with a maximum timing uncertainty of {+-} 2 minutes, the signal onset time delay from the appearance of the fireball of 19 minutes, 20 seconds, the total signal duration of 2 minutes 10 seconds, the source location toward 31 degrees from true north, the horizontal trace velocity of 429 m/sec, the signal velocity of 0.30 {+-} 0.03 km/sec, assuming a 400 km horizontal range to the fireball, the dominant signal frequency content of 0.25 to 0.84 Hz (analyzed in the frequency interval from 0.2 to 2.0 Hz), the maximum signal cross-correlation of 0.97 and the maximum signal amplitude of 2.0 {+-} 0.1 microbars. Also, on the basis of the signal period at maximum amplitude, we estimate a source energy for this event of between 10 to 100 tons of TNT (53.0 tons nominal)