Fireball, 18 April 2007
On 18 April 2007 at 12:44 UTC, sensors detected a fireball above 83.7°S, 171.2°W, 38 km up. It released energy equal to about 0.33 kilotons of TNT.
The numbers
- Date and time (UTC)
- 18 April 2007, 12:44
- Location
- 83.7°S, 171.2°W
- Height at peak brightness
- 38 km
- Speed
- 24.4 km/s (87,840 km/h)
- Light energy radiated
- 11.2 × 10¹⁰ joules
- Estimated total energy
- 0.33 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 1.4 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
- Mount Wisting 95300 H3.3, Antarctica · 310 km away
- Mount Wisting 95301 L6, Antarctica · 310 km away
- Mount Wisting 95302 L6, Antarctica · 310 km away
Saw a bright fireball yourself? Report what you saw.