The recovery of the Matera H5 ordinary chondrite thanks to the observations of the PRISMA fireball network

On 14/02/2023 at 17:68:29 UT, three all-sky cameras of the PRISMA network detected a bright bolide (IT20230214) over the regions of Puglia and Basilicata in Southern Italy. The bolide traversed the atmosphere for about 5.3 s, with an entry speed of 16.3 0.1 km/s and at an inclination angle of 56.7 0.3, reaching a minimum absolute magnitude of -11. Projected on the ground, its trajectory began SW of Bari and ended NE of Matera. From the data collected by the PRISMA network, it was possible to fully characterize the meteoroid, which was determined to have a pre-atmospheric mass of 5 21 kg, corresponding to a size of 15 24 cm. Its pre-atmospheric orbit was determined to be of asteroidal origin, having a moderate eccentricity of 0.54 0.02, an inclination on the ecliptic plane of 14.5 0.2 and a semi-major axis of 2.10 0.07 AU, with a Tisserands parameter of 3.51 0.08. According to a photo-dynamic model, simultaneously fitting for the speed and magnitude data, the residual meteorite mass was determined to be 0.10 0.04 kg (4.4 0.7 cm of size). The area of fall of meteorites was estimated to be located north of Matera, in the Basilicata region. In this contribution, we discuss the analysis of the IT20230214 bolide and, in particular, the finding of the Matera meteorite on 17/03/2023, reported by the brothers Mr. Gianfranco and Pino Losignore in Contrada Rondinelle, in the municipality of Matera. With a total recovered mass of 117.5 g, the Matera meteorite was classified as an H5 ordinary chondrite.