Fireball, 25 February 2017
On 25 February 2017 at 01:22 UTC, sensors detected a fireball above 29.5°N, 13.5°E, 25.4 km up. It released energy equal to about 0.28 kilotons of TNT.
The numbers
- Date and time (UTC)
- 25 February 2017, 01:22
- Location
- 29.5°N, 13.5°E
- Height at peak brightness
- 25.4 km
- Speed
- 12.2 km/s (43,920 km/h)
- Light energy radiated
- 9.16 × 10¹⁰ joules
- Estimated total energy
- 0.28 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 2.2 metres across and weighed around 16 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
- Hammadah al Hamra 313 L6, Libya · 21 km away
- Hammadah al Hamra 312 L6, Libya · 23 km away
- Hammadah al Hamra 339 L6, Libya · 25 km away
Saw a bright fireball yourself? Report what you saw.