Fireball, 21 October 2008
On 21 October 2008 at 02:20 UTC, sensors detected a fireball above 32.8°N, 165.6°W, 29.6 km up. It released energy equal to about 0.15 kilotons of TNT.
The numbers
- Date and time (UTC)
- 21 October 2008, 02:20
- Location
- 32.8°N, 165.6°W
- Height at peak brightness
- 29.6 km
- Speed
- 11.3 km/s (40,680 km/h)
- Light energy radiated
- 4.6 × 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 this speed, it was roughly 1.8 metres across and weighed around 9.8 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.