Fireball, 23 July 2001
On 23 July 2001 at 22:19 UTC, sensors detected a fireball above 41.0°N, 77.0°W. It released energy equal to about 2.8 kilotons of TNT.
The numbers
- Date and time (UTC)
- 23 July 2001, 22:19
- Location
- 41.0°N, 77.0°W
- Height at peak brightness
- Not released
- Speed
- Not released
- Light energy radiated
- 124 × 10¹⁰ joules
- Estimated total energy
- 2.8 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 3.3 metres across and weighed around 59 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
- Bald Eagle Iron, IIIAB, United States · 32 km away
- Black Moshannan Park L5, United States · 91 km away
- Mount Joy Iron, IIAB, United States · 137 km away
Saw a bright fireball yourself? Report what you saw.