Fireball, 13 September 2019
On 13 September 2019 at 02:02 UTC, sensors detected a fireball above 18.6°S, 126.9°E, 27.4 km up. It released energy equal to about 0.14 kilotons of TNT.
The numbers
- Date and time (UTC)
- 13 September 2019, 02:02
- Location
- 18.6°S, 126.9°E
- Height at peak brightness
- 27.4 km
- Speed
- 13.5 km/s (48,600 km/h)
- Light energy radiated
- 4.27 × 10¹⁰ joules
- Estimated total energy
- 0.14 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 1.6 metres across and weighed around 6.4 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
- Wolf Creek Iron, IIIAB, Australia · 120 km away
- Rabbit Flat H6, Australia · 390 km away
- Veevers Iron, IIAB, Australia · 511 km away
Saw a bright fireball yourself? Report what you saw.