Fireball, 28 April 2020
On 28 April 2020 at 05:43 UTC, sensors detected a fireball above 20.1°N, 109.4°W. It released energy equal to about 0.076 kilotons of TNT.
The numbers
- Date and time (UTC)
- 28 April 2020, 05:43
- Location
- 20.1°N, 109.4°W
- Height at peak brightness
- Not released
- Speed
- Not released
- Light energy radiated
- 2.1 × 10¹⁰ joules
- Estimated total energy
- 0.076 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 metres across and weighed around 1.6 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
- Tomatlan H6, Mexico · 437 km away
- Isla del Espíritu Santo L6, Mexico · 531 km away
- Ameca-Ameca Iron, Mexico · 559 km away
Saw a bright fireball yourself? Report what you saw.