Fireball, 20 February 2013
On 20 February 2013 at 13:13 UTC, sensors detected a fireball above 23.0°S, 38.8°W. It released energy equal to about 0.1 kilotons of TNT.
The numbers
- Date and time (UTC)
- 20 February 2013, 13:13
- Location
- 23.0°S, 38.8°W
- Height at peak brightness
- Not released
- Speed
- 13.6 km/s (48,960 km/h)
- Light energy radiated
- 3.2 × 10¹⁰ joules
- Estimated total energy
- 0.1 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 1.4 metres across and weighed around 4.5 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
- Casimiro de Abreu Iron, IIIAB, Brazil · 355 km away
- Varre-Sai L5, Brazil · 386 km away
- São João Nepomuceno Iron, IVA-an, Brazil · 463 km away
Saw a bright fireball yourself? Report what you saw.