Fireball, 21 May 2019
On 21 May 2019 at 13:12 UTC, sensors detected a fireball above 38.8°S, 137.5°E, 31.5 km up. It released energy equal to about 1.6 kilotons of TNT.
The numbers
- Date and time (UTC)
- 21 May 2019, 13:12
- Location
- 38.8°S, 137.5°E
- Height at peak brightness
- 31.5 km
- Speed
- 11.5 km/s (41,400 km/h)
- Light energy radiated
- 65.4 × 10¹⁰ joules
- Estimated total energy
- 1.6 kilotons of TNT
What does that mean?
That is a large 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 4 metres across and weighed around 100 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
- Nora Creina L4, Australia · 264 km away
- Lake Bonney L6, Australia · 271 km away
- Caroline H5, Australia · 317 km away
Saw a bright fireball yourself? Report what you saw.