Fireball, 10 January 2009
On 10 January 2009 at 07:42 UTC, sensors detected a fireball above 64.0°S, 122.8°E, 26.5 km up. It released energy equal to about 0.082 kilotons of TNT.
The numbers
- Date and time (UTC)
- 10 January 2009, 07:42
- Location
- 64.0°S, 122.8°E
- Height at peak brightness
- 26.5 km
- Speed
- Not released
- Light energy radiated
- 2.3 × 10¹⁰ joules
- Estimated total energy
- 0.082 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 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.