Fireball, 3 March 2012
On 3 March 2012 at 21:28 UTC, sensors detected a fireball above 7.8°N, 2.7°E, 20.4 km up. It released energy equal to about 0.33 kilotons of TNT.
The numbers
- Date and time (UTC)
- 3 March 2012, 21:28
- Location
- 7.8°N, 2.7°E
- Height at peak brightness
- 20.4 km
- Speed
- Not released
- Light energy radiated
- 11.1 × 10¹⁰ joules
- Estimated total energy
- 0.33 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 1.6 metres across and weighed around 6.9 tonnes.
It penetrated deep into the atmosphere, which makes it more likely that fragments reached the ground as meteorites. About 70% of Earth is ocean, so most fireballs like this fall into the sea.
Known meteorites nearest this point
- Bawku LL5, Burkina Faso · 483 km away
- Nadiabondi H5, Burkina Faso · 503 km away
- Bogou Iron, IAB-MG, Burkina Faso · 567 km away
Saw a bright fireball yourself? Report what you saw.