GEOPHYSICAL EFFECTS OF A FALLING FIREBALL IN THE WEST OF THE BELGOROD REGION ON APRIL 30, 2024

Abstract

The data of instrumental observations of variations of the geomagnetic and electric fields in the surface atmosphere during the flight and explosive destruction of the fireball on April 30, 2024 on the western border of the Belgorod region are presented. Using data obtained at the observatories of the INTERMAGNET network and the Mikhnevo Geophysical Observatory of the IDG RAS, it was shown that the destruction of the bolide, which occurred in two stages, was accompanied by variations in the magnetic field at epicentral distances up to ~ 2000 km and variations in the electric field strength at a distance of ~ 500 km. Based on the results of processing ionograms of high-frequency ionospheric sounding obtained at the Space Research Center of the Polish Academy of Sciences (Warsaw), the ionospheric effect of the event in question was demonstrated in the form of variations of the critical frequency f₀F2 with an amplitude of ~ 0.4 MHz.