Fireball, 20 May 2023
On 20 May 2023 at 11:22 UTC, sensors detected a fireball above 17.8°S, 141.9°E, 29 km up. It released energy equal to about 7.1 kilotons of TNT.
The numbers
- Date and time (UTC)
- 20 May 2023, 11:22
- Location
- 17.8°S, 141.9°E
- Height at peak brightness
- 29 km
- Speed
- 27.9 km/s (100,440 km/h)
- Light energy radiated
- 351 × 10¹⁰ joules
- Estimated total energy
- 7.1 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 3.6 metres across and weighed around 76 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
- King Solomon Iron, Australia · 390 km away
- Hidden Valley Iron, IIIAB, Australia · 399 km away
- Answer Iron, Australia · 442 km away
Saw a bright fireball yourself? Report what you saw.