List of meteor air bursts
Events
While airbursts undoubtedly happened prior to the 20th century, reliable reports of such are quite scanty. A relatively well-documented case is the 1490 Ch'ing-yang event which has an unknown energy yield but was apparently powerful enough to cause 10,000 deaths.

List of meteor air bursts

Section Title: Events
Table Section Text: While airbursts undoubtedly happened prior to the 20th century, reliable reports of such are quite scanty. A relatively well-documented case is the 1490 Ch'ing-yang event which has an unknown energy yield but was apparently powerful enough to cause 10,000 deaths.

Date	General:Specific Location	Coordinates	Energy (TNT equivalent)	Height of explosion	Notes

1908, Jun 30	Russia: 60 kilometres (37 mi) W-NW of Vanavara near Tunguska River	60°53′09″N 101°53′40″E / 60.88583°N 101.89444°E	15,000 kilotonnes of TNT (63,000 TJ)	8.5 km (5.3 mi)	Tunguska event (Largest witnessed meteor airburst to date)

1919, Nov 26	United States: southern Michigan and northern Indiana	42°N 86°W / 42°N 86°W	A gigantic meteor was seen approaching from the east. A brilliant flash of light, thunder, & an earthquake lasting 3 minutes were reported.

1927, Jul 13	United States: Illinois	38°12′N 89°41′W / 38.200°N 89.683°W	20 km (12 mi)	Tilden meteor. From more than a hundred miles it appeared like "a piece falling off the sun." Then it exploded.

1930, Aug 13	South America: Curuçá River, Brazil	5°11′S 71°38′W / 5.183°S 71.633°W	100 kilotonnes of TNT (420 TJ) ?	Also known as the 1930 Curuçá River event or "Brazilian Tunguska". Generally assumed to be generated by three meteor fragments.

1932, Dec 8	Europe: Arroyomolinos de León, Spain	38°01′00″N 6°25′00″W / 38.01667°N 6.41667°W	190 kilotonnes of TNT (790 TJ) ?	15.7 km (9.8 mi)	Assumed to be produced by an 18-meter object and connected to the December delta-Arietids meteor shower.

1941, Apr 9	Russia: Ural mountains, Katav-Ivanovo district of Chelyabinsk	ru:Катавский болид (Katavsky bolide). Residents saw a fireball flying at a high speed in the dark sky, followed by roaring like the sound of a speeding steam locomotive.

1947, Feb 12	Russia: Sikhote-Alin Mountains in eastern Siberia	46°09′36″N 134°39′12″E / 46.16000°N 134.65333°E	10 kilotonnes of TNT (42 TJ)	Sikhote-Alin bolide. The largest meteorite fall of recent times with total mass of fragments at 23 tons.

1948, Feb 18	United States: Norton County, Kansas	39°41′N 99°52′W / 39.683°N 99.867°W	Norton County bolide. One of the 5 largest meteorite falls of the 20th century, with more than 1 ton of fragments collected.

1959, Nov 24	Asia: Azerbaijan	38°56′N 48°15′E / 38.933°N 48.250°E	Yardymly bolide. A bright object that illuminated the area for almost 3,000 square km before it shattered into pieces with a thunderous noise.

1963, Aug 3	Indian Ocean: about 1100 km west of the Prince Edward Islands	51°S 24°E / 51°S 24°E	260 ± 90 kilotonnes of TNT (1,090 ± 380 TJ)	The Prince Edward Islands bolide was detected infrasonically about 1,100 km (680 mi) W-SW from the Prince Edward Islands off the coast of South Africa by a U.S.

1965, Mar 31	Canada: Revelstoke, British Columbia	0.6 kilotonnes of TNT (2.5 TJ)	13 km (8 mi)	Revelstoke bolide. It exploded brilliantly and detonations were heard up to 130 km away.

1966, Sep 17	Canada: Lake Huron, Michigan, Ontario	0.6 kilotonnes of TNT (2.5 TJ)	13 km (8 mi)	The Kincardine fireball. A brilliant meteor illuminated the whole of SW Ontario.

1967, Feb 5	Canada: Vilna, Alberta	0.6 kilotonnes of TNT (2.5 TJ)	13 km (8 mi)	Vilna bolide. Photographed.

1969, Feb 8	Mexico: Chihuahua	26°58′N 110°19′W / 26.967°N 110.317°W	Allende bolide. The 3rd largest meteorite fall of the 20th century.

1976, Mar 8	Asia: Jilin Province in China	43°42′N 126°12′E / 43.700°N 126.200°E	Jilin bolide. The 2nd largest meteorite fall of the 20th century (after the Sikhote-Alin event).

1984, Apr 3	Africa: Nigeria	11°29′N 11°39′E / 11.483°N 11.650°E	Gujba bolide. A bright object was witnessed then an explosion was heard. More than 100 kg of fragments were found.

1993, Jan 19	Europe: Lugo, Italy	10 kilotonnes of TNT (42 TJ)	30 km	Superbolide airburst caused by the breakup of a low density meteoroid traveling at approximately 26 km/s.

1994, Jan 18	Europe: Cando, Spain	42°50′34.8″N 8°51′40.4″W / 42.843000°N 8.861222°W	Much less than 1 kilotonne of TNT (4.2 TJ)	Cando event. An unexplained ground explosion at 7:15 UTC.

1994, Feb 1	Pacific Ocean: near the Marshall Islands	2°36′N 164°06′E / 2.6°N 164.1°E	11 kilotonnes of TNT (46 TJ)	21–34 km (13–21 mi)	Marshall Islands fireball (about 9 ± 5 meters in diameter). Two fragments exploded at 34 km and 21 km of altitude.

1997, Oct 10	United States: Las Cruces, New Mexico; El Paso, Texas	31°59′N 106°50′W / 31.983°N 106.833°W	0.3 kilotonnes of TNT (1.3 TJ)	10–15 Miles	An airburst detected in El Paso and Las Cruces. The fireball traveled S-SE before disintegrating 10–15 miles above the surface with a loud explosion, traveling around 30,000 MPH.

1997, Dec 9	Europe: 150 km south of Nuuk, Greenland	62°54′N 50°06′W / 62.900°N 50.100°W	0.1 kilotonnes of TNT (0.42 TJ)	25 km (16 mi)	One airburst at 46 km, three more breakups detected between 25 and 30 km. No remains found so far.

1998, June 20	Asia: Kunya-Urgench in Turkmenistan	42°15′N 59°12′E / 42.250°N 59.200°E	Kunya-Urgench bolide. One of the 5 largest meteorite falls of the 20th century, with more than 1 ton of fragments collected.

1999, Nov 8	Europe: Northern Germany	1.5 kilotonnes of TNT (6.3 TJ)	Detected by the Deelen Infrasound Array in the Netherlands

2000, Jan 18	Canada: Yukon, BC	60°43′N 135°03′W / 60.717°N 135.050°W	1.7 kilotonnes of TNT (7.1 TJ)	30 km	Tagish Lake bolide. One airburst at ~08:00, fragments recovered.

2001, Apr 23	Pacific Ocean; west of California	28°00′N 133°36′W / 28°N 133.6°W	2–9 kilotonnes of TNT (8.4–37.7 TJ)	29 km	Infrasound detection. Meteor estimated to be 2–3 meters in diameter.

2002, Jun 6	Mediterranean Sea: 230 km N-NE of Benghazi, Libya	34°N 21°E / 34°N 21°E	12–26 kilotonnes of TNT (50–109 TJ)	2002 Eastern Mediterranean event

2002, Sep 25	Russia: Vitim River, near Bodaybo, Irkutsk Oblast	58°16′N 113°27′E / 58.27°N 113.45°E	0.2–2 kilotonnes of TNT (0.84–8.37 TJ)	30 km	Vitim event or Bodaybo event

2003, Mar 26	United States: Park Forest, Illinois	41°29′N 87°41′W / 41.483°N 87.683°W	0.5 kilotonnes of TNT (2.1 TJ)	Park Forest bolide. Residents in Illinois and neighboring states witnessed a bright meteor exploding overhead.

2003, Sep 27	Asia: Kendrapara in India	21°00′N 86°36′E / 21°N 86.6°E	4.6 kilotonnes of TNT (19 TJ)	26 km (16 mi)	The Kendrapara bolide is notable as it may have caused injuries. A bright light then a loud noise that shattered windows.

2004, Sep 3	Antarctic Ocean: north of Queen Maud Land	69°S 27°E / 69°S 27°E	12 kilotonnes of TNT (50 TJ)	28–30 km (17–19 mi)	Asteroid 7–10 meters in diameter. Coordinates are for dust trail observed after event by NASA's Aqua satellite and LIDAR in Davis Station.

2004, Oct 7	Indian Ocean	10–20 kilotonnes of TNT (42–84 TJ)	Infrasound detection

2005	Start of JPL Fireball and Bolide Reports. (Dates in yellow are not in the JPL reports.)

2005, Jan 1	Africa: Libya	32°42′N 12°24′E / 32.7°N 12.4°E	1.2 kilotonnes of TNT (5.0 TJ)	31.8 km (19.8 mi)	Largest for 2005.

2006, Apr 4	Atlantic Ocean	26°36′N 26°36′W / 26.6°N 26.6°W	5 kilotonnes of TNT (21 TJ)	25 km (16 mi)

2006, Dec 9	Africa: Egypt	26°12′N 26°00′E / 26.2°N 26.0°E	10–20 kilotonnes of TNT (42–84 TJ)	26.5 km (16.5 mi)	Infrasound detection

2007, Sep 28	Europe: Northern Ostrobothnia, Finland	40 km (25 mi)	Bolide that was observed as far as northern Lapland. Meteoritic material was suspected to have landed southeast of Oulu but none has been found.

2008, Oct 7	Africa: Nubian Desert, Sudan	20°48′00″N 32°12′00″E / 20.80000°N 32.20000°E	1–2.1 kilotonnes of TNT (4.2–8.8 TJ)	37 km (23 mi)	2008 TC3, the first asteroid detected before impacting Earth. Fragment has been named as Almahata Sitta meteorite.

2008, Nov 20	Canada: Saskatchewan	53°06′N 109°54′W / 53.1°N 109.9°W	0.4 kilotonnes of TNT (1.7 TJ)	28.2 km (17.5 mi)	Buzzard Coulee bolide. Five times as bright as the full moon and broke apart before impact.

2009, Feb 7	Russia: Tyumen Oblast	56°36′N 69°48′E / 56.6°N 69.8°E	3.5 kilotonnes of TNT (15 TJ)	40 km (25 mi)

2009, Oct 8	Asia: coastal region in South Sulawesi, Indonesia	04°30′00″S 120°00′00″E / 4.50000°S 120.00000°E	31–50 kilotonnes of TNT (130–210 TJ)	25 km (16 mi)	2009 Sulawesi superbolide. No meteoritic material found (most likely fell into the ocean). Occurred ~03:00 UTC; ~11:00 local time.

2009, Nov 21	Africa: South Africa / Zimbabwe	22°00′S 29°12′E / 22.0°S 29.2°E	18 kilotonnes of TNT (75 TJ)	38 km (24 mi)	Impacted going 32.1 km/s (19.9 mi/s). There were 56 witnesses of the bolide and two seismic recorder detections.

2010, July 10	Pacific Ocean: NE of New Zealand	34°06′S 174°30′W / 34.1°S 174.5°W	14 kilotonnes of TNT (59 TJ)	26 km (16 mi)

2010, Sep 3	Pacific Ocean	61°00′S 146°42′E / 61.0°S 146.7°E	3.8 kilotonnes of TNT (16 TJ)	33.3 km (20.7 mi)

2010, Dec 25	Pacific Ocean: east of Japan	38°00′N 158°00′E / 38.0°N 158.0°E	33 kilotonnes of TNT (140 TJ)	26 km (16 mi)

2011, May 25	Africa: Cameroon	4°06′N 14°00′E / 4.1°N 14.0°E	4.8 kilotonnes of TNT (20 TJ)	59 km (37 mi)

2012, Apr 22	United States: California and Nevada	37°6′N 120°5′W / 37.100°N 120.083°W	4 kilotonnes of TNT (17 TJ)	30–47 km	Sutter's Mill meteorite. Numerous fragments from object recovered. (Not in JPL reports.)

2013, Jan 25	Canada: Quebec	60°18′N 64°36′W / 60.3°N 64.6°W	6.9 kilotonnes of TNT (29 TJ)	–

2013, Feb 15	Russia: near Chelyabinsk	54°30′N 61°30′E / 54.500°N 61.500°E	500 kilotonnes of TNT (2,100 TJ)	Estimated 30–50 km	Chelyabinsk meteor, about ~20 meters in diameter. Largest meteor airburst known since Tunguska in 1908.

2013, Apr 21	South America: Argentina	28°06′S 64°36′W / 28.1°S 64.6°W	2.5 kilotonnes of TNT (10 TJ)	40.7 km (25.3 mi)	The bolide was captured on video at a Los Tekis rock concert.

2013, Apr 30	Atlantic Ocean: SW of the Azores	35°30′N 30°42′W / 35.5°N 30.7°W	10 kilotonnes of TNT (42 TJ)	21.2 km (13.2 mi)

2013, Oct 12	Atlantic Ocean	19°06′S 25°00′W / 19.1°S 25.0°W	3.5 kilotonnes of TNT (15 TJ)	22 km (14 mi)

2013, Nov 26	Canada: heard in Montreal, Ottawa, and New York	0.1 kilotonnes of TNT (0.42 TJ)	Montreal bolide.

2014, Jan 8	Pacific Ocean; north of Papua New Guinea	1°18′S 147°36′E / 1.3°S 147.6°E	0.11 kilotonnes of TNT (0.46 TJ)	18.7 km	Potentially interstellar originating from an unbound hyperbolic orbit based on an eccentricity of 2.4, an inclination of 10°, and a speed of 43.8 km/s when outside of the Solar System.

2014, Feb 18	South America: Argentina	32°48′S 61°30′W / 32.8°S 61.5°W	0.1 kilotonnes of TNT (0.42 TJ)	–	Even though this was a low-energy event, there were reports of windows and buildings shaking.

2014, Aug 23	Antarctic Ocean	61°42′S 132°36′E / 61.7°S 132.6°E	7.6 kilotonnes of TNT (32 TJ)	22.2 km (13.8 mi)

2015, Jul 4	China	38°36′N 103°06′E / 38.6°N 103.1°E	0.18 kilotonnes of TNT (0.75 TJ)	46.3 km (28.8 mi)	Head-on collision at 49 km/s (180,000 km/h). Fastest collision in the CNEOS Fireball and Bolide database.

2015, Sep 7	Asia: Bangkok, Thailand	14°30′N 98°54′E / 14.5°N 98.9°E	3.9 kilotonnes of TNT (16 TJ)	29.3 km (18.2 mi)	The 2015 Thailand meteor daylight bolide around 08:40 local time (UTC+7). Caught on at least 9 videos of dash and helmet cams online

2015, Nov 13	Asia: India	16°00′N 124°18′E / 16.0°N 124.3°E	0.3 kilotonnes of TNT (1.3 TJ)	28.0 km (17.4 mi)	Komar Gaon bolide. A daylight meteor accompanied by almost a minute of sonic booms.

2015, Dec 12	Asia: eastern Turkey	39°06′N 40°12′E / 39.1°N 40.2°E	0.13 kilotonnes of TNT (0.54 TJ)	39.8 km (24.7 mi)	Sariçiçek meteorite. A bright fireball was seen and then heard as it exploded over a Turkish village.

2016, Feb 6	Atlantic Ocean: NW of Tristan da Cunha island	30°24′S 25°30′W / 30.4°S 25.5°W	13 kilotonnes of TNT (54 TJ)	31 km (19 mi)	Largest fireball for 2016.

2016, May 16	United States: NE coast	3°12′N 6°36′E / 3.2°N 6.6°E	1.3 kilotonnes of TNT (5.4 TJ)	42 km (26 mi)	Many eyewitnesses, and some heard a sonic boom.

2017, Nov 16	Europe: Inari, Finland	69°06′N 28°36′E / 69.1°N 28.6°E	20–91 km	A meteoroid weighing a few hundred kg exploded in an airburst and dropped tens of kg of meteorites into a remote area of Finnish Lapland.

2017, Dec 15	Russia: Kamchatka	60°12′N 170°00′E / 60.2°N 170.0°E	6.4 kilotonnes of TNT (27 TJ)	20 km (12 mi)	The asteroid likely had a diameter of 2–5 meters prior to impact. But because it happened in a remote area in Kamchatka, there were likely no eyewitnesses.

2018, Jan 16	United States: Michigan	0.01 kilotonnes of TNT	Near New Haven, Michigan. Observers across southern Michigan and surrounding states.

2018, Jan 22	Atlantic Ocean: off Senegal's coast	14°00′N 17°24′W / 14.0°N 17.4°W	0.11 kilotonnes of TNT (0.46 TJ)	Not related to ATLAS detected object A106fgF that had an impact track well south of Senegal.

2018, June 21	Russia: Kursk Oblast	52°48′N 38°06′E / 52.8°N 38.1°E	2.8 kilotonnes of TNT (12 TJ)	27.2 km (16.9 mi)	Loud sonic booms were reported as well as fragments found.

2018, Dec 18	Bering Sea, near Kamchatka, Russia	56°54′N 172°24′E / 56.9°N 172.4°E	173 kilotonnes of TNT (720 TJ)	25.6 km (15.9 mi)	Kamchatka superbolide asteroid ~10 meters in diameter. Largest airburst since Chelyabinsk.

2019, Feb 18	Africa: Zambia	15°30′S 25°18′E / 15.5°S 25.3°E	4.2 kilotonnes of TNT (18 TJ)	26 km (16 mi)

Sentence(s)

Arroyomolinos de León made it into the List of meteor air bursts.

final_sentence: Arroyomolinos de León made it into the List of meteor air bursts.