Fireball, 11 January 2012
On 11 January 2012 at 02:23 UTC, sensors detected a fireball above 32.2°N, 88.5°E. It released energy equal to about 0.24 kilotons of TNT.
The numbers
- Date and time (UTC)
- 11 January 2012, 02:23
- Location
- 32.2°N, 88.5°E
- Height at peak brightness
- Not released
- Speed
- Not released
- Light energy radiated
- 7.68 × 10¹⁰ joules
- Estimated total energy
- 0.24 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 a typical 20 km/s, it was roughly 1.5 metres across and weighed around 5 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
- Tulung Dzong Stone-uncl, China · 325 km away
- Andhara Stone-uncl, India · 686 km away
- Goalpara Ureilite, India · 701 km away
Saw a bright fireball yourself? Report what you saw.