Fireball, 8 September 2025
On 8 September 2025 at 10:09 UTC, sensors detected a fireball above 26.4°N, 42.2°E, 28.4 km up. It released energy equal to about 0.12 kilotons of TNT.
The numbers
- Date and time (UTC)
- 8 September 2025, 10:09
- Location
- 26.4°N, 42.2°E
- Height at peak brightness
- 28.4 km
- Speed
- Not released
- Light energy radiated
- 3.6 × 10¹⁰ joules
- Estimated total energy
- 0.12 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 a typical 20 km/s, it was roughly 1.2 metres across and weighed around 2.5 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.
Known meteorites nearest this point
- Al Rais CR2-an, Saudi Arabia · 348 km away
- Ur Iron, Iraq · 624 km away
- Alkhamasin Iron, IIAB, Saudi Arabia · 701 km away
Saw a bright fireball yourself? Report what you saw.