Fireball, 15 January 2014
On 15 January 2014 at 02:46 UTC, sensors detected a fireball above 18.5°S, 141.8°E, 29.6 km up. It released energy equal to about 0.41 kilotons of TNT.
The numbers
- Date and time (UTC)
- 15 January 2014, 02:46
- Location
- 18.5°S, 141.8°E
- Height at peak brightness
- 29.6 km
- Speed
- Not released
- Light energy radiated
- 14 × 10¹⁰ joules
- Estimated total energy
- 0.41 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 1.8 metres across and weighed around 8.6 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
- King Solomon Iron, Australia · 322 km away
- Answer Iron, Australia · 364 km away
- Hidden Valley Iron, IIIAB, Australia · 387 km away
Saw a bright fireball yourself? Report what you saw.