Fireball, 20 March 2026
On 20 March 2026 at 10:45 UTC, sensors detected a fireball above 52.9°S, 143.7°W, 27 km up. It released energy equal to about 0.098 kilotons of TNT.
The numbers
- Date and time (UTC)
- 20 March 2026, 10:45
- Location
- 52.9°S, 143.7°W
- Height at peak brightness
- 27 km
- Speed
- Not released
- Light energy radiated
- 2.8 × 10¹⁰ joules
- Estimated total energy
- 0.098 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 1.1 metres across and weighed around 2.1 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.
Saw a bright fireball yourself? Report what you saw.