Fireball, 31 March 1999
On 31 March 1999 at 23:54 UTC, sensors detected a fireball above 17.9°S, 22.6°E. It released energy equal to about 0.64 kilotons of TNT.
The numbers
- Date and time (UTC)
- 31 March 1999, 23:54
- Location
- 17.9°S, 22.6°E
- Height at peak brightness
- Not released
- Speed
- Not released
- Light energy radiated
- 23.4 × 10¹⁰ joules
- Estimated total energy
- 0.64 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 2 metres across and weighed around 13 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
- Kalahari 008 Lunar (anorth), Botswana · 345 km away
- Kalahari 009 Lunar (basalt), Botswana · 345 km away
- Mabe H5, Botswana · 410 km away
Saw a bright fireball yourself? Report what you saw.