Fireball, 27 January 2006
On 27 January 2006 at 01:27 UTC, sensors detected a fireball above 58.7°N, 74.7°E, 20 km up. It released energy equal to about 0.15 kilotons of TNT.
The numbers
- Date and time (UTC)
- 27 January 2006, 01:27
- Location
- 58.7°N, 74.7°E
- Height at peak brightness
- 20 km
- Speed
- Not released
- Light energy radiated
- 4.5 × 10¹⁰ joules
- Estimated total energy
- 0.15 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 1.3 metres across and weighed around 3.1 tonnes.
It penetrated deep into the atmosphere, which makes it more likely that fragments reached the ground as meteorites. About 70% of Earth is ocean, so most fireballs like this fall into the sea.
Known meteorites nearest this point
- Khmelevka L5, Russia · 220 km away
- Krutikha OC, Russia · 251 km away
- Vengerovo H5, Russia · 324 km away
Saw a bright fireball yourself? Report what you saw.