Fireball, 9 August 2005
On 9 August 2005 at 14:35 UTC, sensors detected a fireball above 21.5°S, 56.2°E, 37 km up. It released energy equal to about 0.089 kilotons of TNT.
The numbers
- Date and time (UTC)
- 9 August 2005, 14:35
- Location
- 21.5°S, 56.2°E
- Height at peak brightness
- 37 km
- Speed
- 16.9 km/s (60,840 km/h)
- Light energy radiated
- 2.5 × 10¹⁰ joules
- Estimated total energy
- 0.089 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 this speed, it was roughly 1.2 metres across and weighed around 2.6 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
- Sainte Rose H3.6 · 63 km away
- Mauritius L6 · 186 km away
Saw a bright fireball yourself? Report what you saw.