Fireball, 12 July 1996
On 12 July 1996 at 14:04 UTC, sensors detected a fireball above 20.7°N, 93.6°W. It released energy equal to about 0.11 kilotons of TNT.
The numbers
- Date and time (UTC)
- 12 July 1996, 14:04
- Location
- 20.7°N, 93.6°W
- Height at peak brightness
- Not released
- Speed
- Not released
- Light energy radiated
- 3.2 × 10¹⁰ joules
- Estimated total energy
- 0.11 kilotons of TNT
What does that mean?
That is a small 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 1.1 metres across and weighed around 2.3 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
- Los Reyes Iron, IIIAB, Mexico · 417 km away
- Tlacotepec Iron, IVB, Mexico · 472 km away
- Zapotitlán Salinas L4, Mexico · 486 km away
Saw a bright fireball yourself? Report what you saw.