Explosions of meteoroids and estimating their parameters from light emission

High-power visible light pulses detected by sensors mounted on geostationary satellites are analyzed. The distinctive features of meteoroid explosions which produce these flashes in the atmosphere are studied. A method is described for determining the parameters of bodies in space from the known radiation power and altitude of the explosion. Numerical calculations show that these light pulses were produced by falling stony and, once, ferrous bodies with dimensions on the order of a meter. The bursts produced by bodies from outer space in the atmosphere are compared with the light pulses from spherically symmetric instantaneous explosions with similar energies.