Fireball, 29 May 1994
On 29 May 1994 at 09:30 UTC, sensors detected a fireball above 52.8°N, 2.3°E. It released energy equal to about 1 kilotons of TNT.
The numbers
- Date and time (UTC)
- 29 May 1994, 09:30
- Location
- 52.8°N, 2.3°E
- Height at peak brightness
- Not released
- Speed
- Not released
- Light energy radiated
- 38.4 × 10¹⁰ joules
- Estimated total energy
- 1 kilotons of TNT
What does that mean?
That is a large burst by fireball standards: the Chelyabinsk fireball of 2013 released about 440 kilotons. If the object was stony rock entering at a typical 20 km/s, it was roughly 2.4 metres across and weighed around 21 tonnes.
Most objects of this kind break up and burn away high in the atmosphere, but larger ones can drop small meteorites. About 70% of Earth is ocean, so most fireballs like this fall into the sea.
Known meteorites nearest this point
- Ashdon L6, United Kingdom · 159 km away
- Ellemeet Diogenite, Netherlands · 164 km away
- Glatton L6, United Kingdom · 179 km away
Saw a bright fireball yourself? Report what you saw.