Full extent of the IM1 strewn field

Determine the full spatial extent of the strewn field produced by the CNEOS 2014-01-08 (IM1) bolide relative to the Department of Defense fireball localization and surveyed tracks.

Background

The expedition mapped and sampled runs within and beyond the Department of Defense error box for the IM1 fireball, noting that some tracks lay outside the box. The authors explicitly state that the full extent of IM1’s strewn field is unknown, impacting confidence in whether material recovered along various tracks could belong to IM1.

Quantifying the strewn field extent is necessary for robust sampling strategies, provenance attribution, and for interpreting spatial composition patterns in the context of IM1’s fragmentation and atmospheric dynamics.

References

Tracks 22 and 17 were located outside the Department of Defense error box for IM1's fireball, but the full extent of IM1's strewn field is unknown.

— Chemical Classification of Spherules Recovered From The Pacific Ocean Site of The CNEOS 2014-01-08 (IM1) Bolide (2401.09882 - Loeb et al., 18 Jan 2024) in Discussion around Figure 2 (Vessel Tracks)