Fireball, 20 July 2024
On 20 July 2024 at 14:08 UTC, sensors detected a fireball above 73.7°S, 22.5°E, 38.8 km up. It released energy equal to about 5.1 kilotons of TNT.
The numbers
- Date and time (UTC)
- 20 July 2024, 14:08
- Location
- 73.7°S, 22.5°E
- Height at peak brightness
- 38.8 km
- Speed
- 30.8 km/s (110,880 km/h)
- Light energy radiated
- 243.3 × 10¹⁰ joules
- Estimated total energy
- 5.1 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 3.1 metres across and weighed around 45 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
- Asuka 8601 H6, Antarctica · 116 km away
- Asuka 8602 L4, Antarctica · 116 km away
- Asuka 8603 H4, Antarctica · 116 km away
Saw a bright fireball yourself? Report what you saw.