Nasa confirms fireball from outer space
The National Aeronautics and Space Administration (Nasa) has confirmed the fireball which streaked across the Thai sky on Sept 7 was an object from outer space with an explosive power of up to a quarter of the atomic bomb dropped on Hiroshima, the Thai astronomical agency says.
The object, thought to be a bolide, or a bright meteor, was the biggest of its kind seen this year, said Saran Poshayachinda, deputy director of the National Astronomical Research Institute of Thailand (Narit).
Mr Saran said Nasa had sent details to Narit saying the object weighed about 66 tonnes and was 3.5 metres in diameter.
It entered the Earth’s atmosphere at a speed of 75,600kph and people saw it at its brightest when it was 29.3km above the Earth, according to Nasa.
“Nasa told us that its impact power is the equivalent of 3.9 kilotonnes of TNT explosive, or around one quarter of the power of the nuclear bomb that hit Hiroshima during World War II,” Mr Saran said.
“We expect it might have hit the Earth somewhere in Sai Yok National Park in Kanchanaburi province,” he said.
At 8.40am on Sept 7, a large, bright flare was seen shooting across the sky of Bangkok, leaving a trail of smoke, with sightings also reported in Nakhon Ratchasima and Kanchanaburi.
Several video clips of the incident went viral online.
Group Captain Thakoon Kertkaew, the Royal Thai Air Force’s secretary to the sub-committee on space technology, said the air force and Narit are looking for the object.
He said his team had gone to Kanchanaburi in search of the landing place but have so far found nothing. It is possible the fireball might not have hit the ground after burning up in the air.
According to Nasa, between 19942013, 556 small asteroids entered the Earth’s atmosphere.