Meteor Airburst over NE China

2026, May 21. China, Heilongjiang, Shuangyashan, Baoqing County, Dongxing Town. Airburst. Time: 02:15:51UT. Coordinates: (46.6N;133.1E). Altitude: 31.5km. Velocity Components: vx =14.4; vy = -6.5; vz = 1.0. Absolute Velocity: 15.83 km/s. Angle of Entry: 3.62° relative to the horizontal plane. Note on the trajectory: Because the vertical component (v_z = 1.0) is very small compared to the horizontal speed (15.80 km/s), this meteor entered at an incredibly shallow, skimming angle—essentially a "grazing" fireball entry. Energy: 3.5e10, -e = 0.12 or 120,000 kg/TNT. Even though overland, I'm watching this region since the Arafura Sea meteoroid entry, and recent fireball entries over the Tasman Sea - see posts below. 

South China Sea strandings

2025, June 5. Vietnam, South China Sea, Tien Sa Port in Da Nang. A nearly-200-kilogram pantropical spotted dolphin showing signs of exhaustion and injury was stranded in the capital city of central Vietnam. It was refloated.

2025, June 5. China, Hainan Island, South China Sea, beach in Wanning City. Stranded Sarawak dolphin taken to rehab.  

Note: See May 31st posts on meteor activity and stranding in South China Sea.

Also: Two dead Dwarf Sperm Whales in the Philippines. 

2025, June 2. Philippines, Mindanao, Surigao City. Dead dwarf sperm whale.

2025, June 6. Philippines, Sariaya, Quezon. A six-foot long, 100-kilogram dwarf sperm whale washed ashore in Sitio Kaingin, Bignay 2, Sariaya, Quezon. Native name 'lumba-lumba'. Estimated girth of 50 centimeters.

Second large fireball in China creating sonic boom

2025, May 31. China, Beijing. Large Fireball. Time: 02:51. Sonic boom reported. Residents in several Beijing districts were jolted awake early Saturday by a thunderous explosion around 3 am, with some witnessing a dramatic burst of light illuminating the night sky, Beijing Daily reported on Saturday. This event comes two days after the fireball in Maoming city, Guangdong Province. Official statement: "Our monitoring stations recorded the event. Combined with some videos posted by netizens, we observed the typical green 'fireworks' like phenomenon. It moved very fast and exploded violently. What streaked across the Beijing night sky was a bolide," said Li Zhenye, a postdoctoral researcher at School of Astronomy and Space Science under UCAS, which recorded the precise event time at 2:51 am on Saturday, according to Beijing Daily.

Image: Beijing Daily  

Large Meteor Fireball in China

2025, May 28. China, over Maoming, Guangdong Province. Large Fireball. Time: around 21:33. Duration: 6 seconds. Loud sonic boom heard. Its trajectory was from northeast to southwest, and it is believed to have either disintegrated completely or fallen into the South China Sea, as no ground impact or meteorite debris has been found. The brightness was so extreme that it startled people who witnessed it — even flocks of ducks in nearby farms were frightened and scattered in panic. According to multiple surveillance camera recordings, the meteor had a light trail that shifted from orange-yellow to blue-green and was far brighter than a typical meteor. Maoming’s Emergency Management Bureau conducted overnight inspections and reported no property damage. Authorities urged the public not to panic. Government departments and astronomical institutions continue to monitor the situation and have found no unusual impacts. Preliminary estimates suggest the meteor's energy was comparable to the fireball meteor event over the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau in 2020.

Airburst, daylight meteor and Strandings

2025, February 21. USA, Texas (location ?). Dead common dolphin.

2025, February 21. Indonesia, Bali, Badung. A dead humpback in an advanced state of decomposition washed ashore.

2025, February 22. UK, Cornwall, Par Beach. Dead common dolphin.

2025, February 22. Mexico, Baja California Sur, Bahia Almejas in the southern part of Bahia Magdalena in the Municipality of La Paz. Dead Gray whale.  

2025, February 22. Atlantic Ocean, 70 km west of Quinzau, Angola. Airburst. Coordintes: (6.9E, 12.1E). Energy: e = 3.5, -e = 0.12 or 120,000 kg/TNT.  

2025, February 22. Philippines, Davao City, Ana Wharf. Dead Cuvier’s beaked whale was found floating near Pier 1. Estimated to weigh around 700 kilograms, measuring 17.3 feet in length and 8.4 feet in width. Authorities are still determining the cause of death.

2025, February 22. China, Hac Sa Beach. A sub-adult male porpoise measuring 1.48 meters. The carcass was already decomposing.  

2025, February 22. China, Huangshan Mountain, 65 km west of coastal city of Wenzhou. Meteor Airburst. Coordinates: (28.1N, 120E). e = 5.5, -e = 0.18 or 180,000 km/TNT. Altitude: 56.7km. Velocity 15 km/sec. Important note: This is the 8th airburst this year compared to one this time last year. This is a major uptick in atmospheric activity, the most recorded in over 50 years. 

2025, February 23. USA, Texas, Aransas Pass. Dead dolphin.

2025, February 24. Malaysia, South China Sea, Pahang, Pantai Kampung Sungai Miang. A 10 meter long Bryde or fin whale in a state of advanced decomposition.   

2025, February 25. Mexico, Mazatlán. Dead whale shore. Species Humpback?

2025, February 25. Ireland, Ballydwan Beach. Dead dolphin.  

Mexico on 25th.

Short-finned pilot whale released back into wild in China

2024, May 26. China, Hainan province. After nearly six months of rescue and dedicated care at the Sanya Haichang Animal Conservation Center a stranded short-finned pilot whale named "Haitang" was returned to the sea.

Photo by Wang Chenglong/For chinadaily.com.cn

Short-finned pilot whale released back into wild - Chinadaily.com.cn

UPDATE: Earth Skimming Fireball was asteroid in Spain, and China Airburst on March 17

2024, March 30. Spain/Mediterranean. Earth Skimming Fireball. Time: 22h59m TUC (23h59 CET). Flew over Catalonia, across the Balearic Sea and the Balearic Islands. It was caught on camera for well over 35 seconds.

It was a piece of asteroid that flew over the Mediterranean (ecoportal.net)

2024, March 17. China, Zhongchangyuan, Zixi County, Fuzhou, Jiangxi. Airburst. Location (27.6, 117). Altitude: 42.1 km. Velocity: 25.6 km/s. e = 3.7 and -e = 0.13. Equivalent to 130,000 kg of TNT.

Google Maps

Data collected from Bolide visualizer (seti.org)