Fireball, 9 February 2002
On 9 February 2002 at 19:50 UTC, sensors detected a fireball above 17.7°S, 138.7°E. It released energy equal to about 0.22 kilotons of TNT.
The numbers
- Date and time (UTC)
- 9 February 2002, 19:50
- Location
- 17.7°S, 138.7°E
- Height at peak brightness
- Not released
- Speed
- Not released
- Light energy radiated
- 7 × 10¹⁰ joules
- Estimated total energy
- 0.22 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 4.6 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
- King Solomon Iron, Australia · 353 km away
- Tawallah Valley Iron, IVB, Australia · 392 km away
- Roper River Iron, IIIAB, Australia · 496 km away
Saw a bright fireball yourself? Report what you saw.