Fireball, 13 February 2014
On 13 February 2014 at 06:47 UTC, sensors detected a fireball above 13.3°N, 110.7°W, 25 km up. It released energy equal to about 1.5 kilotons of TNT.
The numbers
- Date and time (UTC)
- 13 February 2014, 06:47
- Location
- 13.3°N, 110.7°W
- Height at peak brightness
- 25 km
- Speed
- Not released
- Light energy radiated
- 63 × 10¹⁰ joules
- Estimated total energy
- 1.5 kilotons of TNT
What does that mean?
That is a large 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 2.7 metres across and weighed around 31 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.
Saw a bright fireball yourself? Report what you saw.