Fireball, 20 November 2022
On 20 November 2022 at 13:53 UTC, sensors detected a fireball above 15.0°N, 109.7°W, 26 km up. It released energy equal to about 0.12 kilotons of TNT.
The numbers
- Date and time (UTC)
- 20 November 2022, 13:53
- Location
- 15.0°N, 109.7°W
- Height at peak brightness
- 26 km
- Speed
- 21.7 km/s (78,120 km/h)
- Light energy radiated
- 3.37 × 10¹⁰ joules
- Estimated total energy
- 0.12 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 1.1 metres across and weighed around 2.1 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
- Tomatlan H6, Mexico · 745 km away
- Atemajac L6, Mexico · 852 km away
- Ameca-Ameca Iron, Mexico · 861 km away
Saw a bright fireball yourself? Report what you saw.