Fireball, 9 September 2025
On 9 September 2025 at 17:49 UTC, sensors detected a fireball above 2.3°S, 39.5°W, 24 km up. It released energy equal to about 0.44 kilotons of TNT.
The numbers
- Date and time (UTC)
- 9 September 2025, 17:49
- Location
- 2.3°S, 39.5°W
- Height at peak brightness
- 24 km
- Speed
- 20.7 km/s (74,520 km/h)
- Light energy radiated
- 15.3 × 10¹⁰ joules
- Estimated total energy
- 0.44 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 1.8 metres across and weighed around 8.6 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
- Cratheús (1931) Iron, IVA, Brazil · 346 km away
- Macau H5, Brazil · 450 km away
- Parambu LL5, Brazil · 457 km away
Saw a bright fireball yourself? Report what you saw.