2009 Sulawesi superbolide

Watampone
2009 Sulawesi superbolide

The 2009 Sulawesi superbolide was a meteor airburst event over Indonesia on October 8, 2009, at 2:57 UTC (10:57 AM local time), near the coastal city of Watampone in South Sulawesi. The meteoritic impactor broke up at an estimated height of 15–20 km. The impact energy of the bolide was estimated in the 8 to 67 kiloton TNT equivalent range, with the higher end of this range being more likely (50 kT).[1] The likely size of the impactor was 6–10 metres (20–33 ft) m diameter.[2][3][4][5][1]

Bolide's explosion resulted in audible booms and thunderous sounds that shook the ground. Meteor left a thick cloud of smoke.[6][4]

The bolide resulted in an indirect death – a 9 year old girl had suffered a fatal cardiac arrest most likely due to intense fear from loud booms caused by meteoroid's supersonic speed. She reportedly already had a heart condition.[6][7]

References

  1. ^ a b Silber, Elizabeth A.; Le Pichon, Alexis; Brown, Peter G. (2011-06). "Infrasonic detection of a near-Earth object impact over Indonesia on 8 October 2009". Geophysical Research Letters. 38 (12): n/a–n/a. doi:10.1029/2011GL047633. ISSN 0094-8276. Archived from the original on 2019-02-13. {{cite journal}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  2. ^ "Asteroid Impactor Reported over Indonesia". NASA. 23 October 2009. Archived from the original on 2009-11-02.
  3. ^ "Asteroid explosion over Indonesia raises fears about Earth's defences". The Telegraph. 27 October 2009. Archived from the original on 2009-10-29.
  4. ^ a b "Asteroid explosion was a whopper for Earth". NBC News. 29 October 2009. Archived from the original on 2013-08-25.
  5. ^ "Huge Explosion Was Biggest Space Rock to Strike Earth Since 1994". Space.com. 29 October 2009. Archived from the original on 2011-01-30.
  6. ^ a b Infrasonic Detection of a Large Bolide over South Sulawesi, Indonesia on October 8, 2009: Preliminary Results – E. A. Silber, A. Le Pichon, P. G. Brown
  7. ^ Beatty, J. Kelly (2009-10-25). "Cosmic Blast Rattles Indonesia". Sky & Telescope. Retrieved 2026-03-22.


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