Fireball, 8 December 2015
On 8 December 2015 at 00:34 UTC, sensors detected a fireball above 69.9°S, 150.5°E, 38 km up. It released energy equal to about 0.57 kilotons of TNT.
The numbers
- Date and time (UTC)
- 8 December 2015, 00:34
- Location
- 69.9°S, 150.5°E
- Height at peak brightness
- 38 km
- Speed
- Not released
- Light energy radiated
- 20.4 × 10¹⁰ joules
- Estimated total energy
- 0.57 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 a typical 20 km/s, it was roughly 2 metres across and weighed around 12 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
- David Glacier 01001 L6, Antarctica · 663 km away
- Elephant Moraine 92045 H5, Antarctica · 697 km away
- Elephant Moraine 87541 L6, Antarctica · 697 km away
Saw a bright fireball yourself? Report what you saw.