Fireball, 14 October 2023
On 14 October 2023 at 22:55 UTC, sensors detected a fireball above 8.4°S, 161.9°W, 37 km up. It released energy equal to about 0.18 kilotons of TNT.
The numbers
- Date and time (UTC)
- 14 October 2023, 22:55
- Location
- 8.4°S, 161.9°W
- Height at peak brightness
- 37 km
- Speed
- 19.3 km/s (69,480 km/h)
- Light energy radiated
- 5.44 × 10¹⁰ joules
- Estimated total energy
- 0.18 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 1.4 metres across and weighed around 4 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.
Saw a bright fireball yourself? Report what you saw.