Fireball, 28 November 2019
On 28 November 2019 at 11:55 UTC, sensors detected a fireball above 22.1°S, 25.7°E, 22.5 km up. It released energy equal to about 0.088 kilotons of TNT.
The numbers
- Date and time (UTC)
- 28 November 2019, 11:55
- Location
- 22.1°S, 25.7°E
- Height at peak brightness
- 22.5 km
- Speed
- 24.7 km/s (88,920 km/h)
- Light energy radiated
- 2.47 × 10¹⁰ joules
- Estimated total energy
- 0.088 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 92 cm across and weighed around 1.2 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
- Matsitama H4/5, Botswana · 139 km away
- Mabe H5, Botswana · 187 km away
- Ellisras Iron, South Africa · 298 km away
Saw a bright fireball yourself? Report what you saw.