An Automated Detection Pipeline and Statistical Analysis of Meteors Detected by GOES GLM

The Geostationary Lightning Mapper (GLM) instrument onboard the GOES 16 and 17 satellites has been shown to be capable of detecting bolides (bright, exploding 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 meteor 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 over 3 years and we have amassed a catalogue of over 3900 bolides. We present a statistical analysis of the bolides detected by GLM and how our bolide database can be used to both understand near Earth asteroid populations and inform the planetary defense community about the threat of large asteroids.