Fireball, 8 March 2010
On 8 March 2010 at 22:02 UTC, sensors detected a fireball above 32.0°N, 92.9°W, 52 km up. It released energy equal to about 0.85 kilotons of TNT.
The numbers
- Date and time (UTC)
- 8 March 2010, 22:02
- Location
- 32.0°N, 92.9°W
- Height at peak brightness
- 52 km
- Speed
- 24.5 km/s (88,200 km/h)
- Light energy radiated
- 31.9 × 10¹⁰ joules
- Estimated total energy
- 0.85 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 2 metres across and weighed around 12 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
- Atlanta EL6, United States · 26 km away
- Harleton L6, United States · 169 km away
- Red River Iron, IIIAB, United States · 198 km away
Saw a bright fireball yourself? Report what you saw.