Fireball, 21 November 2009
On 21 November 2009 at 20:53 UTC, sensors detected a fireball above 22.0°S, 29.2°E, 38 km up. It released energy equal to about 20 kilotons of TNT.
The numbers
- Date and time (UTC)
- 21 November 2009, 20:53
- Location
- 22.0°S, 29.2°E
- Height at peak brightness
- 38 km
- Speed
- 32.1 km/s (115,560 km/h)
- Light energy radiated
- 1120 × 10¹⁰ joules
- Estimated total energy
- 20 kilotons of TNT
What does that mean?
That is about 1.3 times the energy of the Hiroshima bomb (about 15 kilotons), released harmlessly high in the atmosphere. If the object was stony rock entering at this speed, it was roughly 4.7 metres across and weighed around 160 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
- Ellisras Iron, South Africa · 243 km away
- Matsitama H4/5, Botswana · 298 km away
- Magombedze H3-5, Zimbabwe · 378 km away
Saw a bright fireball yourself? Report what you saw.