Fireball, 1 June 2024
On 1 June 2024 at 23:24 UTC, sensors detected a fireball above 1.0°S, 15.9°W, 26.5 km up. It released energy equal to about 0.25 kilotons of TNT.
The numbers
- Date and time (UTC)
- 1 June 2024, 23:24
- Location
- 1.0°S, 15.9°W
- Height at peak brightness
- 26.5 km
- Speed
- 12.6 km/s (45,360 km/h)
- Light energy radiated
- 8.01 × 10¹⁰ joules
- Estimated total energy
- 0.25 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 2 metres across and weighed around 13 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.
Saw a bright fireball yourself? Report what you saw.