Fireball, 21 May 2026
On 21 May 2026 at 02:15 UTC, sensors detected a fireball above 46.6°N, 133.1°E, 31.5 km up. It released energy equal to about 0.12 kilotons of TNT.
The numbers
- Date and time (UTC)
- 21 May 2026, 02:15
- Location
- 46.6°N, 133.1°E
- Height at peak brightness
- 31.5 km
- Speed
- 15.8 km/s (56,880 km/h)
- Light energy radiated
- 3.5 × 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 this speed, it was roughly 1.4 metres across and weighed around 4 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
- Sikhote-Alin Iron, IIAB, Russia · 129 km away
- Sungach H5, Russia · 193 km away
- Boguslavka Iron, IIAB, Russia · 255 km away
Saw a bright fireball yourself? Report what you saw.