Fireball, 3 November 2016
On 3 November 2016 at 17:14 UTC, sensors detected a fireball above 39.6°S, 16.3°W, 37 km up. It released energy equal to about 0.24 kilotons of TNT.
The numbers
- Date and time (UTC)
- 3 November 2016, 17:14
- Location
- 39.6°S, 16.3°W
- Height at peak brightness
- 37 km
- Speed
- Not released
- Light energy radiated
- 7.6 × 10¹⁰ joules
- Estimated total energy
- 0.24 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 1.5 metres across and weighed around 5 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.
Saw a bright fireball yourself? Report what you saw.