FIREBALL

Fireball near Nandi, Fiji

Map: Fireball near Nandi, Fiji

A fireball, a small asteroid burning up in the atmosphere, exploded about 228 km (142 mi) southwest of Nandi, Fiji on Saturday, August 1, 2026 at 17:43 UTC, about 45 km (28 mi) up. U.S. government sensors measured its energy at about 100 tons of TNT. Explosions this high up rarely cause damage on the ground.

Energy100 t TNT
Altitude45 km · 28 mi
Location19.5°S 176.2°E
Time (UTC)Aug 1 17:43
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How big was it?

Most fireballs come from rocks a meter or a few meters across. The 2013 Chelyabinsk fireball over Russia, about 440 kilotons, was the largest in a century; it shattered windows across the city. Most land over the ocean, unseen.

Did you know?

The Torino scale. Asteroid impact risks are rated on the Torino scale, from 0 (no hazard) to 10 (certain global catastrophe). Almost every known asteroid rates 0.

Data: NASA JPL CNEOS fireball reports, from U.S. government sensors.

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