Fireball, 2 January 2015
On 2 January 2015 at 13:39 UTC, sensors detected a fireball above 31.1°S, 140.0°E, 38.1 km up. It released energy equal to about 0.073 kilotons of TNT.
The numbers
- Date and time (UTC)
- 2 January 2015, 13:39
- Location
- 31.1°S, 140.0°E
- Height at peak brightness
- 38.1 km
- Speed
- 18.1 km/s (65,160 km/h)
- Light energy radiated
- 2 × 10¹⁰ joules
- Estimated total energy
- 0.073 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 1.1 metres across and weighed around 1.9 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
- Lake Frome 001 H5, Australia · 46 km away
- Lake Frome 002 H5, Australia · 46 km away
- Lake Frome 003 H6, Australia · 46 km away
Saw a bright fireball yourself? Report what you saw.