Fireball, 27 June 2009
On 27 June 2009 at 13:08 UTC, sensors detected a fireball above 26.6°S, 12.6°W, 26.1 km up. It released energy equal to about 0.11 kilotons of TNT.
The numbers
- Date and time (UTC)
- 27 June 2009, 13:08
- Location
- 26.6°S, 12.6°W
- Height at peak brightness
- 26.1 km
- Speed
- 15.2 km/s (54,720 km/h)
- Light energy radiated
- 3.2 × 10¹⁰ joules
- Estimated total energy
- 0.11 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 1.4 metres across and weighed around 4 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.