Fireball, 1 January 2005
On 1 January 2005 at 03:44 UTC, sensors detected a fireball above 32.7°N, 12.4°E, 31.8 km up. It released energy equal to about 1.2 kilotons of TNT.
The numbers
- Date and time (UTC)
- 1 January 2005, 03:44
- Location
- 32.7°N, 12.4°E
- Height at peak brightness
- 31.8 km
- Speed
- Not released
- Light energy radiated
- 45.4 × 10¹⁰ joules
- Estimated total energy
- 1.2 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 2.5 metres across and weighed around 25 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
- Beni M'hira L6, Tunisia · 151 km away
- En Naffatiyah L6, Tunisia · 157 km away
- Tatahouine Diogenite, Tunisia · 187 km away
Saw a bright fireball yourself? Report what you saw.