Fireball, 16 July 2009
On 16 July 2009 at 06:39 UTC, sensors detected a fireball above 24.4°S, 59.8°W, 32.2 km up. It released energy equal to about 1.8 kilotons of TNT.
The numbers
- Date and time (UTC)
- 16 July 2009, 06:39
- Location
- 24.4°S, 59.8°W
- Height at peak brightness
- 32.2 km
- Speed
- Not released
- Light energy radiated
- 75.9 × 10¹⁰ joules
- Estimated total energy
- 1.8 kilotons of TNT
What does that mean?
That is a large 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 2.9 metres across and weighed around 38 tonnes.
Most objects of this kind break up and burn away high in the atmosphere, but larger ones can drop small meteorites. About 70% of Earth is ocean, so most fireballs like this fall into the sea.
Known meteorites nearest this point
- Pampa del Infierno L6, Argentina · 285 km away
- Campo del Cielo Iron, IAB-MG, Argentina · 350 km away
- Pitino H5, Argentina · 350 km away
Saw a bright fireball yourself? Report what you saw.