The atmosphere absorbed most of the object 's energy , with a total kinetic energy before atmospheric impact equivalent to approximately 500 kilotons of TNT ( about 1.8 PJ ) , 20-30 times more energy than was released from the atomic bomb detonated at Hiroshima .
The total energy released was equivalent to nearly 500 kilotons of TNT ( 2.1 PJ ) , which would make it 20-30 times more powerful than the atomic bombs detonated at Hiroshima and Nagasaki .