Fireball, 6 January 2018
On 6 January 2018 at 18:24 UTC, sensors detected a fireball above 39.5°S, 12.8°E, 26 km up. It released energy equal to about 0.11 kilotons of TNT.
The numbers
- Date and time (UTC)
- 6 January 2018, 18:24
- Location
- 39.5°S, 12.8°E
- Height at peak brightness
- 26 km
- Speed
- Not released
- Light energy radiated
- 3.3 × 10¹⁰ joules
- Estimated total energy
- 0.11 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 1.1 metres across and weighed around 2.3 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
- Muizenberg L6, South Africa · 784 km away
- Diep River L6, South Africa · 820 km away
- Simondium Mesosiderite-A4, South Africa · 834 km away
Saw a bright fireball yourself? Report what you saw.