Fireball, 9 October 2012
On 9 October 2012 at 00:54 UTC, sensors detected a fireball above 51.2°N, 84.6°W, 27.8 km up. It released energy equal to about 0.57 kilotons of TNT.
The numbers
- Date and time (UTC)
- 9 October 2012, 00:54
- Location
- 51.2°N, 84.6°W
- Height at peak brightness
- 27.8 km
- Speed
- 13.5 km/s (48,600 km/h)
- Light energy radiated
- 20.3 × 10¹⁰ joules
- Estimated total energy
- 0.57 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 2.6 metres across and weighed around 26 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
- Osseo Iron, IAB complex, Canada · 514 km away
- Iron River Iron, IVA, United States · 639 km away
- Manitouwabing Iron, IIIAB, Canada · 729 km away
Saw a bright fireball yourself? Report what you saw.