Fireball, 22 June 2019
On 22 June 2019 at 21:25 UTC, sensors detected a fireball above 14.9°N, 66.2°W, 25 km up. It released energy equal to about 6 kilotons of TNT.
The numbers
- Date and time (UTC)
- 22 June 2019, 21:25
- Location
- 14.9°N, 66.2°W
- Height at peak brightness
- 25 km
- Speed
- 14.9 km/s (53,640 km/h)
- Light energy radiated
- 294 × 10¹⁰ joules
- Estimated total energy
- 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 5.2 metres across and weighed around 230 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
Saw a bright fireball yourself? Report what you saw.