Fireball, 28 November 2014
On 28 November 2014 at 11:47 UTC, sensors detected a fireball above 46.1°S, 172.7°E, 26.1 km up. It released energy equal to about 1.7 kilotons of TNT.
The numbers
- Date and time (UTC)
- 28 November 2014, 11:47
- Location
- 46.1°S, 172.7°E
- Height at peak brightness
- 26.1 km
- Speed
- 13.4 km/s (48,240 km/h)
- Light energy radiated
- 68.7 × 10¹⁰ joules
- Estimated total energy
- 1.7 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 this speed, it was roughly 3.7 metres across and weighed around 79 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
- Morven H4/5, New Zealand · 188 km away
- View Hill Iron, IIIAB, New Zealand · 313 km away
- Makarewa L6, New Zealand · 332 km away
Saw a bright fireball yourself? Report what you saw.