Weather satellite lightning tool secondary use

Astronomers are now using a weather satellite to detect fast moving meteors, called bolides, moving through the atmosphere.

The nearly identical GOES-16 and GOES-17 weather satellites, used by meteorologists to monitor most of the western hemisphere’s weather from 22,236 miles above equator, has become a valuable tool for astronomers too.

The satellites’ Geostationary Lightning Mapping (GLM) system is designed to detect lightning, looking for characteristic flashes 500 times a second. This rapid detection method also detects the rapid flashes produced by meteors called bolide.

What is a bolide you ask?

Simply, it is a large meteor that explodes as it enters the atmosphere. It produces a fireball high in the sky and on occasion, a sonic boom or explosion can be heard. Most of these meteors completely disintegrate high in the Earth’s atmosphere.

On New Year’s Day in the Pittsburgh area, the ground shook and a loud boom was heard. Using GOES satellite data, it was quickly determined that a yard-wide half-ton meteor burning up in the atmosphere caused people to call 911 to report the unusual noise and shaking. The GOES system can detect meteors ranging in width from about 4 inches to 9 feet.

Between July 2017 and January 2022, the weather satellites detected more than 3,000 bolides. Astronomers are using this information to create models about meteor frequency, size, and the trajectory they take when they enter the atmosphere.

The newest GOES satellite is scheduled to launched in March. This story offers the weather satellite's updated instrumentations.