Weather Radar Detection and Analysis of Bolides in the Day or Night

Weather radars have proven to be valuable tools for detection and analysis of meteorite falls, specifically identifying and analyzing falling meteorites which have survived the initial fireball. The NEXRAD system has been in operation since the late 1990s by the United States National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA). During that time, it has detected 32 recovered meteorite falls and 20 additional unrecovered but probable falls within and around the U.S. Detections have occurred at all hours of the day and night as the system operates constantly, delivering data to a public internet portal in near real time. It is possible to estimate the mass of meteorites detected based on standard equations of motion, and the total reflected energy can in theory produce a measure of the number of meteorites present. Currently, weather radar data are used to analyze falls at times and places identified by other means such as eyewitness reports, infrasound, and satellite lightning sensors, but recent work suggests that the direct detection of meteorite falls in radar data alone is possible. There is considerable growth possible in the use of this technique, both in development of advanced detection and analysis methods and in expansion to weather radar networks worldwide.