Fireball, 23 August 2009
On 23 August 2009 at 21:17 UTC, sensors detected a fireball above 67.7°S, 18.3°E, 34 km up. It released energy equal to about 1.2 kilotons of TNT.
The numbers
- Date and time (UTC)
- 23 August 2009, 21:17
- Location
- 67.7°S, 18.3°E
- Height at peak brightness
- 34 km
- Speed
- 12.2 km/s (43,920 km/h)
- Light energy radiated
- 46 × 10¹⁰ joules
- Estimated total energy
- 1.2 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 this speed, it was roughly 3.5 metres across and weighed around 67 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
- Asuka 8601 H6, Antarctica · 616 km away
- Asuka 8602 L4, Antarctica · 616 km away
- Asuka 8603 H4, Antarctica · 616 km away
Saw a bright fireball yourself? Report what you saw.