Fireball, 15 March 2008
On 15 March 2008 at 11:29 UTC, sensors detected a fireball above 28.0°N, 41.5°W, 26.7 km up. It released energy equal to about 0.16 kilotons of TNT.
The numbers
- Date and time (UTC)
- 15 March 2008, 11:29
- Location
- 28.0°N, 41.5°W
- Height at peak brightness
- 26.7 km
- Speed
- 12.9 km/s (46,440 km/h)
- Light energy radiated
- 5 × 10¹⁰ joules
- Estimated total energy
- 0.16 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 1.7 metres across and weighed around 8 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.
Saw a bright fireball yourself? Report what you saw.