Fireball, 14 June 2015
On 14 June 2015 at 03:03 UTC, sensors detected a fireball above 6.3°N, 124.1°E, 32.4 km up. It released energy equal to about 0.22 kilotons of TNT.
The numbers
- Date and time (UTC)
- 14 June 2015, 03:03
- Location
- 6.3°N, 124.1°E
- Height at peak brightness
- 32.4 km
- Speed
- 31.9 km/s (114,840 km/h)
- Light energy radiated
- 7.08 × 10¹⁰ joules
- Estimated total energy
- 0.22 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 metres across and weighed around 1.8 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
- Pantar H5, Philippines · 197 km away
- Calivo Stone-uncl, Philippines · 636 km away
- Orconuma Unclassified · 760 km away
Saw a bright fireball yourself? Report what you saw.