Fireball, 13 July 2024
On 13 July 2024 at 03:10 UTC, sensors detected a fireball above 7.4°S, 41.0°W, 32 km up. It released energy equal to about 1.5 kilotons of TNT.
The numbers
- Date and time (UTC)
- 13 July 2024, 03:10
- Location
- 7.4°S, 41.0°W
- Height at peak brightness
- 32 km
- Speed
- Not released
- Light energy radiated
- 59 × 10¹⁰ joules
- Estimated total energy
- 1.5 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 a typical 20 km/s, it was roughly 2.7 metres across and weighed around 31 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
- Campos Sales L5, Brazil · 101 km away
- Parambu LL5, Brazil · 134 km away
- Cratheús (1931) Iron, IVA, Brazil · 245 km away
Saw a bright fireball yourself? Report what you saw.