A giant fireball was seen zooming past the atmosphere of the Earth which then fell over the Southern Atlantic Ocean.
The explosion of the fireball was seen approximately 1000kms from the ocean and this incident happened at 9.am off the Brazil coast. The fireball brimmed with energy and was said to have equivalence with 13,000 tons of TNT.
This said fireball is considered to be the largest one that has hit the Earth since Feb 2013’s Chelyabinsk explosion. Yes, it was a significant one. In comparison with the Chelyabinsk explosion, a groundbreaking energy of 500,000 tons was boasted as it passed through the skies of Ural Mountains.
By the high-altitude impact that was felt, the space rock is estimated to have a width of 5-7 meters. For making the picture clear, the rock causing Chelyabinsk explosion had a width of 65 widths.
When we see the numbers, it seems as if the event of 6th Feb has been repeated and now the question is why wasn’t noise created after it happened.
Astronomer Phil Plait investigated the matter and some calculations were made for explaining what had happened. A big chunk of rock that comes from space has an ability of causing a shattering and blazing impact as it makes an entry into the atmosphere of Earth.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=05_pjKaTpZk
If the size of the rock is big, it goes deep into the air before it burns. Then, the gas is compressed in front of it, thereby increasing the meteoroid’s temperature and making it glow. Next, it would either blow off or evaporate, which further slows down or completely disappears.
If the size of the rock is big, it would shatter as massive pressure is put on the air on it. The resulting debris then burn up and turn into small pieces.
Chelyabinsk broke up as it was seen and observed via bright lights that occur so fast that tremendous energy unraveled. This is the reason why the event was quite significant and termed ‘explosion’.
However, the event on the 6th February event would have been an epic one, but it occurred around 1000 kilometers away from the coast. This is far enough, and no one is likely to see it.
How NASA knew?
NASA came to know about this giant fireball through military which is always looking out for explosions in air for reasons of safety. However, the Jet Propulsion Laboratory of NASA received limit information just restricted to direction and timing.
