Fireball, 7 September 2015
On 7 September 2015 at 01:41 UTC, sensors detected a fireball above 14.5°N, 98.9°E, 29.3 km up. It released energy equal to about 3.9 kilotons of TNT.
The numbers
- Date and time (UTC)
- 7 September 2015, 01:41
- Location
- 14.5°N, 98.9°E
- Height at peak brightness
- 29.3 km
- Speed
- 21 km/s (75,600 km/h)
- Light energy radiated
- 180 × 10¹⁰ joules
- Estimated total energy
- 3.9 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 3.6 metres across and weighed around 74 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
- Nakhon Pathom L6, Thailand · 153 km away
- Ban Rong Du Iron, ungrouped, Thailand · 343 km away
- Chiang Khan H6, Laos · 478 km away
Saw a bright fireball yourself? Report what you saw.