Fireball, 31 July 2017
On 31 July 2017 at 22:01 UTC, sensors detected a fireball above 24.7°N, 118.5°W. It released energy equal to about 0.19 kilotons of TNT.
The numbers
- Date and time (UTC)
- 31 July 2017, 22:01
- Location
- 24.7°N, 118.5°W
- Height at peak brightness
- Not released
- Speed
- Not released
- Light energy radiated
- 5.8 × 10¹⁰ joules
- Estimated total energy
- 0.19 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 1.4 metres across and weighed around 4 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
- Santa Rosalia Pallasite, PMG, Mexico · 682 km away
- Puerto Libertad L, Mexico · 815 km away
Saw a bright fireball yourself? Report what you saw.