Fireball, 3 May 2000
On 3 May 2000 at 10:40 UTC, sensors detected a fireball above 5.0°S, 73.0°E. It released energy equal to about 0.19 kilotons of TNT.
The numbers
- Date and time (UTC)
- 3 May 2000, 10:40
- Location
- 5.0°S, 73.0°E
- Height at peak brightness
- Not released
- Speed
- Not released
- Light energy radiated
- 5.9 × 10¹⁰ joules
- Estimated total energy
- 0.19 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 1.4 metres across and weighed around 4 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.
Saw a bright fireball yourself? Report what you saw.