Fireball, 9 November 2008
On 9 November 2008 at 02:38 UTC, sensors detected a fireball above 14.5°N, 112.7°E, 29.6 km up. It released energy equal to about 0.61 kilotons of TNT.
The numbers
- Date and time (UTC)
- 9 November 2008, 02:38
- Location
- 14.5°N, 112.7°E
- Height at peak brightness
- 29.6 km
- Speed
- Not released
- Light energy radiated
- 22.2 × 10¹⁰ joules
- Estimated total energy
- 0.61 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 2 metres across and weighed around 13 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
- Phuoc-Binh L5, Vietnam · 512 km away
- Phu Hong H4, Vietnam · 574 km away
Saw a bright fireball yourself? Report what you saw.