Fireball, 13 July 2017
On 13 July 2017 at 09:30 UTC, sensors detected a fireball above 23.1°N, 60.7°E, 35 km up. It released energy equal to about 0.23 kilotons of TNT.
The numbers
- Date and time (UTC)
- 13 July 2017, 09:30
- Location
- 23.1°N, 60.7°E
- Height at peak brightness
- 35 km
- Speed
- 13.7 km/s (49,320 km/h)
- Light energy radiated
- 7.37 × 10¹⁰ joules
- Estimated total energy
- 0.23 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 1.9 metres across and weighed around 10 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
- Ramlat al Wahibah 041 L6, Oman · 238 km away
- Ramlat al Wahibah 042 L6, Oman · 256 km away
- Ramlat al Wahibah 044 H4-5, Oman · 282 km away
Saw a bright fireball yourself? Report what you saw.