Massachusetts Whale Death

2024, October 31. USA, Massachusetts, Westport, Elephant Rock. A humpback whale washed up after being dead for some time. The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration was only able to provide limited details.

Humpback Whale Stranded on Westport Beach

Cook Strait Fireball

2024, October 27. New Zealand, Cook Strait. Fireball. Time: 20:55NZDT around 07:53 UT. Travelling N.W. Witnessed at Canterbury, Hawke's Bay, Manawatū-Whanganui, Marlborough and Wellington.

Google Maps

Information supplied by https://fireball.amsmeteors.org/

The 2019 Multiple Mass Dolphin Strandings in Iceland

2019, May 26. North Atlantic Ocean. Airburst. 56.6N, 25.3W. Time: 10:07. e = 0.14. 822 km from S.W Iceland. Altitude: 24.4 km. Velocity 17.5 km/s. 900km south of evets below.

2019, July 18. Iceland, Snaefellsnes Peninsula in western Iceland. 50 long-finned pilot whales on the shore. Concentrated in one spot and are thought to have swum ashore at the same time. Were half buried in sand, some might have been totaly buried so numbers could have been much higher.

2019, August 3, Iceland, Southwest Iceland’s Reykjanes peninsula, Beach at Garður. 3 weeks after first one. 50 to 70 Black Dolphins. 30 returned to sea.

(Supplied: David Schwarzhans via AP)  

2019 Airburst and Stranding

Cape Verde Mass Dolphin Stranding Incidents of 2007 and 2019

2007 Incident.

2007, February 2. North Atlantic. Large Airburst. Time: 12:48pm. Coordinates: (24, -37.2). e = 34, -e = 0.89 or 890,000 kg/TNT. Altitude: 35.5 km. Velocity: NA. Note: 1731km N.W of Cape Verde Islands.

On 17-19 November 2007, Cape Verde Islands western Boavista, Equatorial Atlantic. Melon-headed whales (Peponocephala electra). Concerning 265 and 70 animals two mass stranding events respectively.

2019 Incident.

2019, May 22. Equatorial Atlantic. Airburst. Coordinates: (10.8, -37.3). Time: 15:16. e = 9.5, -e = 0.29 or 290,000 kg/TNT. 1660km W.S.W of Cape Verde Islands.

2019, September 12. Atlantic. Airburst. Coordinates: ( 24.9, -47.8). Time: 02:34. e = 5.9, -e = 0.19 or 190,000 kg/TNT. Altitude: 30.6 km. Velocity: 17.2 km/s. 2700Km W.N.W of Cape Verde Islands.

2019, September 24. Cape Verde, Eastern side of Boa Vista Island, Portuguese colony, Equatorial Atlantic. A total of 163 melon-headed dolphins (Peponocephala electra) were stranded in the shallow waters at around 6am. Over 100 died. The dolphins included adults, juveniles and calves. There was no evidence of Naval Sonar being responsible for these strandings.

Note: 3 days after the above stranding event. Note: 1200km N.W of Cape Verde Islands.

2019, September 27. Equatorial Atlantic. Coordinates: (25.7, -28.4). Time: 13:35. e = 3.4, -e = 0.12, or 120,000 kg/TNT.  

2019 Cape Verde

2007 Cape Verde

Mass stranding in Taiwan

2024, October 8. Taiwan, Taichung’s Daan Beach. A pod of four pygmy killer whales.

Image: Ocean Conservation Administration

Other Events: 2024, October 5. Southern Ocean / South Pacific, 1800km west of South America, Chile, Reserva Nacional Alacalufes. Airburst. Coordinates: (-55.9, -102). Time: 12:27. e = 2.7, -e = 0.095 or 95,000 kg/TNT. Altitude: 39.5km. Velocity: 13.1 km/s.

2024, October 8. Spain, shores of Galicia, specifically on Pampaido beach in Sanxenxo. Dead 15-metre whale (Fin?) and dolphins wash up on shores of Spain during brutal Storm Kirk. The animal was in a state of decomposition. Meanwhile, in Fisterra, A Coruña, two dead dolphins were found washed up on a beach on Wednesday morning.  

Mass Cachalot (Sperm whale) stranding on Flinders Island, Tasmania. Updated 20241010

2024, October 6. Tasmania, Flinders Island, Bass Strait. Five Cachalots (sperm whales) found stranded on Marshall Bay Beach on Flinders Island have all died, officials have confirmed, despite efforts to save two overnight. Crews from the Tasmania Parks and Wildlife Service and the Marine Conservation Program found three of the whales dead when they first arrived to inspect them on Monday.

(Supplied: Department of Natural Resources and Environment Tasmania)  

(Supplied: Department of Natural Resources and Environment Tasmania)

Google Maps

All the below meteors were caught on camera on the 7th, the day after the stranding. 

Meteor Map – Fireballs Aotearoa

Further activity

2024, October 3. New Zealand, Auckland, Bay of Plenty and Waikato. Fireball. Time: around 09:20UT. 22:08NZDT.

2024, October 7. New Zealand, South Island. Fireball. Time: around 06:59 UT. 19:59NZDT. Seen at Canterbury and Tasman travelling east in the N.W of island.  

2024, October 10. New South Wales / Queensland. Fireball. Seen in locations 700km apart from western Sydney to Toowoomba in Queensland.  

Three airbursts Updated: 20241008

2024, September 23. South Atlantic Ocean. Airburst. Time: 06:37. Coordinates: (-45.6, -31.9). Energy: e = 5.5, -e = 0.18 or 180,000 kg/TNT. Altitude: 69km. Velocity: N.A.

2024, September 28. Southern Ocean, 240km N.E of Elephant Island in Antarctica below South America. Airburst. Time: 00:10. Coordinates: (-59.8, -51.8). e = 10.8, -e = 0.32 or 320,000 kg/TNT. Altitude: 34 km. Velocity: 15 km/s. This was only 374 km N.W from the airburst on June 3. It is also over 4 times more powerful than the South Africa event on August 25.

Fireballs (nasa.gov)

Updated: 20241008

Fireballs (nasa.gov)

2024, October 5. Southern Ocean, 1800km west of South America, Chile, Reserva Nacional Alacalufes. Airburst. Coordinates: (-55.9, -102). Time: 12:27. e = 2.7, -e = 0.095 or 95,000 kg/TNT. Altitude: 39.5km. Velocity: 13.1 km/s.