Fireball, 4 February 2012
On 4 February 2012 at 14:42 UTC, sensors detected a fireball above 32.4°N, 0.1°E, 34.2 km up. It released energy equal to about 0.38 kilotons of TNT.
The numbers
- Date and time (UTC)
- 4 February 2012, 14:42
- Location
- 32.4°N, 0.1°E
- Height at peak brightness
- 34.2 km
- Speed
- 12.2 km/s (43,920 km/h)
- Light energy radiated
- 13 × 10¹⁰ joules
- Estimated total energy
- 0.38 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 2.4 metres across and weighed around 21 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
- Anoual Lunar, Morocco · 289 km away
- Northwest Africa 059 H3.9/4, Algeria · 293 km away
- Ksar el Hajoui L6, Morocco · 295 km away
Saw a bright fireball yourself? Report what you saw.