A Statistical Analysis of Bolides Detected by GOES GLM and its Implications to Planetary Defense

The Geostationary Lightning Mapper (GLM) instrument onboard the GOES 16 and 17 satellites has been shown to be capable of detecting bolides (bright meteors) in the atmosphere. Due to its large, continuous field of view and immediate public data availability, GLM provides a unique opportunity to detect a large variety of bolides, including those in the 0.1 to 3 m diameter range that complements current ground-based bolide detection systems, which are typically sensitive to smaller objects. We have deployed a machine learning based bolide detection and light curve generation pipeline with detections being promptly published on a NASA hosted publicly available website, https://neo-bolide.ndc.nasa.gov. The pipeline has now been operational for 2.5 years and we have amassed a catalogue of over 2500 bolides. We present a statistical analysis of the bolides detected by GLM and how our bolide database can be used to inform the planetary defense community about the threat of large asteroids.