Fireball, 28 September 2024
On 28 September 2024 at 00:10 UTC, sensors detected a fireball above 59.8°S, 51.8°W, 34.2 km up. It released energy equal to about 0.32 kilotons of TNT.
The numbers
- Date and time (UTC)
- 28 September 2024, 00:10
- Location
- 59.8°S, 51.8°W
- Height at peak brightness
- 34.2 km
- Speed
- 15 km/s (54,000 km/h)
- Light energy radiated
- 10.8 × 10¹⁰ joules
- Estimated total energy
- 0.32 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 12 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.