Fireball, 24 December 2008
On 24 December 2008 at 15:51 UTC, sensors detected a fireball above 68.9°S, 102.0°W, 21.1 km up. It released energy equal to about 0.12 kilotons of TNT.
The numbers
- Date and time (UTC)
- 24 December 2008, 15:51
- Location
- 68.9°S, 102.0°W
- Height at peak brightness
- 21.1 km
- Speed
- 24.1 km/s (86,760 km/h)
- Light energy radiated
- 3.5 × 10¹⁰ joules
- Estimated total energy
- 0.12 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 metres across and weighed around 1.7 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.