Meteor explodes over coastal Libya

2026, October 4. Libya, Tripoli and parts of the NW of the country. Large Fireball/Terminal Airburst and Shock Wave/Possible Meteorite Fall. Time: 22:28:36 LT (20:28:36 UTC). The fireball travelled primarily over land along the northwestern coast, straddling the interface between the Mediterranean Sea and the Libyan mainland. Visible across Tripoli and neighbouring coastal towns in northwestern Libya, it moved along a near-horizontal trajectory above regions including Ain Zara. Duration: +6 seconds. Inside and outside the capital, people confirmed they had already seen the illuminated object before some heard the loud explosion that shook houses. Residents across land-based suburbs reported shaking walls, rattling doors, and an intense acoustic thud shortly after the optical burst. This suggests the meteor produced a delayed sonic boom and didn't produce electrophonic sound during entry.

Meteor detonates over Tasman Sea west of New Zealand

2026, September 23. New Zealand, North Island, Tasman Sea. Large Fireball. Sonic Boom. Time: 22.57. Duration: 5 seconds. Big cracking sound. If this was heard from Waitara, 83 km away, it must have exploded with high energy output. Sonic Boom / Delayed Rumbles: Primary reports confirm a delayed sonic boom and low-frequency rolling rumbles reported across regional Taranaki (including around Kaponga and near Mount Taranaki) and extending toward parts of the western Waikato. Consistent with an atmospheric shockwave generated high in the stratosphere over the ocean/coastal edge, witnesses who experienced the visual flash noted the acoustic boom arrived approx. 1.5 to 3 minutes later, indicating an explosive airburst at an altitude of roughly 30–50 km. Cetacean effects: This is not a good location for a large meteor to explode (Cook Strait entry point). East of the Taranaki Bight; any meteorites would be in the sea. People across the South and upper North Island reported seeing the object, including from Auckland and parts of the Waikato. Witnesses described a brilliant green, yellow or orange light, with some reporting a glowing trail and a flash that briefly illuminated the surrounding sky. Below is a preliminary trajectory to represent where it was located. Once again, I'll update as more data becomes available. 

Long duration fireball over New Zealand

2026, August 30. New Zealand, North Island. Large fireball. (Sunday) Time: 7:43pm. Colour: green. Direction: passing West to East. At the moment, the flight time is 13+ seconds, and the preliminary trajectory has it over Bay of Plenty. There have been no AMS sound reports so far. Will update further as it was heading towards the ocean.

Screenshot: Fireballs Aotearoa.

See video here from Fireballs Aotearoa: Facebook

Meteorite strikes house in USA

2026, March 21. USA, Texas, west Houston. Fireball/Meteorite Impact. Sonic Boom, concurrent and delayed. “Three phase sound, loud, rumbling, loud”. Estimated to be 3 feet in diameter and weighed about a ton. Doppler weather radar picked up the meteorite fall, between Willowbrook and Northgate Crossing, which is about a 60 km wide strewn field. It was seen south at Rockport and N to Fort Worth 500km apart. People across a wide area heard and felt it. Time: around 4:45pm. Appeared 49 miles above Stagecoach, NW of Houston. It moved SE at 35,000 miles an hour. It broke apart 29miles above Bammel, just west of Cyprus Station. Residents from Houston to Katy to Fulshear described a loud explosion, a bright flash, and in some cases a slight shake. A large stone crashed through the roof of a womans house in Ponderosa following meteor. More than 100 eyewitnesses from northwest Houston to Austin. They described it as a loud, thunderclap-like sound and a powerful streak of light falling through the sky.

Meteor Airburst in USA

The size, energy yield, altitude and sonic boom data will be incredibly valuable to my whale stranding research.

2026, March 17. USA, Ohio, Cleveland, Lake Erie. Airburst. Coordinates: (41.2N, 82.0W). Time: around 08:56 AM local time. Diameter: roughly 6 feet in diameter and weighing about 7 tons. Altitude: 45km. Velocity: 14.91 km/s. Energy: e = 12.6e10, -e = 0.37 or 370,000 kg/TNT. Fourth airburst of the year recorded by NASA. The meteor was first visible at an altitude of 50 miles above Lake Erie, off the beaches of Lorain in northern Ohio, the agency said. Trajectory: SSE at 53,693 km/h. Seen in Canada, Pennsylvania, Virginia. It was seen as far south as North Carolina, north in St. Ignace, Minnesota, west in Freeport, Illinois. Sonic Boom heard over a wide region. Concurrent and delayed sound. The initial explosion was followed by echos that lasted 12+ seconds. At Sandusky, Ohio, 93km to the origin it was seen at 8:56:41 and heard at 9:01:25 am. This calculates to 4 minutes and 44 seconds. Rough estimate based on -5 Degrees Celsius, average temp and ameteur speed of sound calculations. A witness from 182 km to the east: “I heard an initial boom, and a secondary "boom/woosh" about 3 seconds later”. “It sounded like a sonic boom from a jet. Louder than I’d imagine”. “The sonic boom came first then the whole house shook violently”. There are reports the explosion was heard as far way as New York 650 km to the east. Meteorite Recovery: The debris area where a search for meteorites will likely commence is between Medina, OH and Wadsworth, Ohio along Wadsworth Rd.near River Styx Park. Also could be some fragments between Chippewa Lake and Ganger... all in Medina County, Ohio. 

The Azerbaijan meteor and Iranian seal deaths

Report: February 2025 Caspian Sea Activity & The Baku Meteorite.

Overview The first week of February 2025 marked a significant intersection of celestial and biological events in the Caspian Sea region. While the primary event was a confirmed meteorite impact in Baku, it coincided with a notable spike in regional marine life distress. The Baku Impact (February 4–5, 2025) was a confirmed meteorite fall that occurred on the night of February 4th, landing in the yard of TV presenter Leyla Mustafayeva in Baku, Azerbaijan. Laboratory analysis by the Institute of Geology and Geophysics identified the object as a basalt-type meteorite (Achondrite). The main mass weighed 2.34 kg and created an impact crater approximately 20–30 cm deep. Basaltic meteorites are rare, originating from the crust of differentiated bodies (like Vesta, the Moon, or Mars), suggesting a high-velocity, high-density entry. During the same window (February 2025), reports emerged of significant ecological disturbances across the Caspian basin. Dozens of Caspian seal carcasses were found washed up along the Iranian (Mazandaran) and Kazakh (Bautino) coastlines. Researchers from the Institute of Hydrobiology and Ecology noted that many stranded animals appeared well-fed and viable (including pregnant females), indicating sudden, unnatural deaths rather than prolonged illness. One working theory presented by regional experts to explain these sudden deaths was asphyxiation caused by natural gas releases from the seabed. From a research perspective, the timing suggests a potential link between the atmospheric pressure of the Baku entry and the sudden mortality of deep-diving mammals in the region. The acoustic or seismic energy from a basaltic airburst/impact can trigger localized seabed disturbances caused by shockwaves. The seal deaths were reported in the same early February window, appearing as "fresh" carcasses shortly after the Baku event. The February 2025 window provides a clear "ground truth" event: a scientifically verified basaltic meteorite fall immediately preceding unexplained, sudden deaths of marine mammals in the same landlocked basin. Local residents in Baku reported a "loud bang" (sonic boom) followed by a "thud" around 4:00 AM local time on February 5, 2025. This is highly consistent with a basaltic meteorite, which is dense and maintains its velocity deeper into the atmosphere than common stony meteors. The fall occurred during the peak of the February eta Draconids and the Alpha Centaurids. While these are minor showers, February is known as the start of "Fireball Season" in the Northern Hemisphere, where larger-than-average objects are more likely to penetrate the atmosphere. Scientists at Shamakhy have historically noted that the Caspian's unique geological structure (deep sedimentary layers) can amplify the seismic effects of an airburst's pressure wave. While no major earthquake (Mag 5+) occurred that night, the Republican Seismic Survey Center often records "micro-seisms" in the Caspian Sea basin. There is a documented phenomenon in the Caspian where infrasound or seismic shocks can trigger the release of methane from "mud volcanoes" or sub-sea gas pockets. This aligns with the "gas emission" theory cited in the mass seal deaths mentioned in your previous report. The Baku Meteorite (Feb 2025) wasn't just a rock in a garden; it was a physical proof of a high-energy atmospheric event. With the Caspian Sea acting as a giant acoustic bowl, the infrasound from this basaltic entry may have triggered sub-sea gas releases or disoriented local marine life, explaining the sudden appearance of 'fresh' carcasses on regional shores just days later.

Mass Cachalot stranding in Denmark

2026, February 20. Denmark, at Skallingen near Fanø. A mass stranding of 4 cachlots (sperm whales). The next day another two stranded. At the same time, there were observations of live animals in the sea off the coast. Previous stranding and meteor activity are covered in a previous post. It's not as complex and energy-driven as the 2016 incidents; however, this could be the start of something that could escalate. Hopefully it won't. In 2016 a large meteor fell over Denmark, the big event (Ejby Meteorite Fal). The fireball’s path moved from the southwest to the northeast, passing over the German-Danish border and terminating over the Zealand region of Denmark. As of February 20, fireball activity has remained steady. When these cluster strandings occur, there is very often a significant meteor event that occurs pre, post, or in the middle. The other note is that the current strandings are occurring at a higher latitude, and the UK and France have had none. I'm currently cross-referencing 2016-2026 and any activity in Norway. See February 7th post.

Update: 20260221: 

2026, January 4. Denmark, Fireball. on Sunday, January 4th 2026 around 22:35 UT. 2026-01-04 23:35CET. Seen in Denmark and Friesland - Netherlands.  

2026, January 14. Netherlands, North Sea. Fireball. Flevoland, Friesland, Gelderland, Noord-Holland, North Holland, Overijssel, South Holland, Utrecht and Zuid-Holland. Time: around 17:59 UT. 2026-01-14 18:59CET. Travelling SW off the coast in the North Sea.

February 18. Denmark, Fireball. Travelling NE. Time: around 17:06 UT. 18:06CET. Seen in Östergötlands län, Halland County, Mecklenburg-Vorpommern, Niedersachsen and Schleswig-Holstein (Sweden, and Germany).

2026, February 18. Denmark, Fireball. Travelling west. Time: 22:54UTC. Velocity: 67.97 km/s. Duration: 2.09 seconds over 140km. Altitude: 118 to 106km. The track occurred 50km north of the stranding.  

2026, January 20. Denmark. Fireball. Travelling NNW over Zealand. Time: around 22:33 UT. 2026-01-20 23:33CET Seen in Sachsen-Anhalt, Schleswig-Holstein, Skåne County and Skåne län (Sweden, and Germany).

I will post further developments as they come in. The risk of further stranding is high. Note: There are no active seismic surveys currently underway in the North Sea.

Update 20260222: Another two sperm whales have come ashore, bringing the total to six. They are a juvenile bull bachelor pod. This brings the total of eight sperm whales dead in Denmark.

Image: Fanø Police

80 km of atmospheric fire

I'm glad this didn't happen over water. Satellite image of the meteor explosion over Argentina. 2025, September 13. Argentina, Lihuel Calel Department, La Pampa Province. Airburst. Time: 22:26:39UT. 19:24LT. Coordinates: (38.1S,64.8W). Altitude: 25.1 km. Energy: e = 16.7e10, -e = 0.48 or 480,000 kg/TNT. Velocity: 17.8 km/s. Trajectory east-west with a luminosity trail about 80km long. Seen east at Bahía Blanca, Provincia de Buenos Aires (AR), Witness: “ It was persistent and incandescent, like it got on fire quickly. The train lasted for a while. It was kind of a whiteish explosion and I saw some fragmentation.” Seen 520km south at Puerto Madryn, Chubut Province (AR) Witness: “It exploded very close to the ground, at an extremely fast speed, and the explosion was very, very large. It left a huge trail of fire, and then the smoke remained as a red cloud for more than 10 minutes.”

Image: RAMMB/CIRA in its GOES 19

A dolphin died in Brazil. I'm not linking this to the recent airburst, just keeping a close eye on what's happening. 

Airbursts, Fireballs and Cetacean Strandings in last month

2024, August 25. South Africa. Small Airburst / Meteor Impact. Time: 08:51. The detonation occurred 60 km inland from the coast. Travelling east over coast. Coordinates: (-33.6, 24.5). Altitude: 38.2 km. Velocity: 20.1 km/s. -e = 2.6e10, e = 0.092 or 92,000 kg/TNT. Three massive explosions were heard near Mossel Bay, Great Brak and St Francis Bay region. One witness stated that it sounded like a jet passing over, and caused the sliding doors in their house to rattle. The main explosion was heard and felt at places over 273 km apart at Humansdorp, Patensie and Addo, and as far afield as Sedgefield and George. Meteorites were located in Nqweba from a stony chondritic meteroid estimated to be around 7 feet long. Meteorites recovered at Kirkwood, 100 km from St Francis Bay. The furthest report the scientists received of someone observing the incident was from Ceres, over 600km away from where fragments were spotted. The fireball that streaked across the heavens was heard from Gqeberha to the Karoo 315 km apart. There were reports of small fragments hitting the water offshore. See September 14 humpback death.

2024, August 27. UK, Cumbria, Braystones, near Whitehaven, Irish Sea. A dead juvenile minke or fin whale. Measuring approximately 3.5m (11.5ft) in length.

2024, August 27. USA, Florida, St. Augustine Beach. Dead dolphin. South of the A Street beach access. Its carcass was found heavily shark-scavenged.

2024, August 28. USA, North Carolina, Corolla. A very emaciated pygmy sperm whale that washed up on an Outer Banks beach had to be euthanized.

2024, August 30. Bangladesh, Sonarpara beach of Cox's Bazar sea coast. A dead spinner dolphin. The length of spinner dolphin is 8 feet and weight is 95 kg. It is assumed that the dolphin might have died within 24 hours.

2024, August 30. Alaska, Prince of Wales Island. Subadult female Humpback was found in waters near Craig.

2024, August 30. Italy, north east, Porto San Rocco in Muggia, located in Trieste. Crews removed the carcass of a Fin whale measuring 13 meters (42 feet), which was discovered underneath a pier. Appeared to have been dead for no more than 7 days. See 2024, August 12.

2024, September 2. Scotland, Lunan Bay, Angus beach. A large male minke whale washed up deceased and decomposed. The whale may have become entangled.

2024, September 2. Thailand, Phuket’s Bang Tao Beach. A pregnant 2.24-metre-long female Dwarf Sperm whale with a 50-centimetre-long male calf, tragically choked by a stomach full of rubbish, was found dead.

2024, September 2. Alaska, Prince of Wales Island. Humpback, young male whale was found in waters near Craig.

2024, September 3. Philippines, Mariveles, Bataan. A dead dolphin was found floating near a beach resort in front of the Freeport Area of Bataan. The cetacean measured four to five feet in length. There are verifying reports of another dead dolphin sighting off Barangay Cabcaben in Mariveles.

2024, September 3. Egypt, near Cairo. Large Bolide. Caught on camera from the International Space Station. Time: at 5:42 am (IST)

2024, September 5. Philippines, North Luzon, N.E in the Philippine Sea. Airburst. Coordinates: (18, 123). It was 86 km east from the coast. Energy: -e = 6.2, e = 0.2 or 200,000 kg/TNT. Altitude: 25km. Velocity: 19.7 km/s. Time: 00:39PST. UT around 16:39 on the 4th. Asteroid 2024 RW1 was discovered 8 hours before entering the Earth's atmosphere. Asteroid Designation: CAQTDL2. Diameter: 1.5 m or 4.9 ft. Mass: 6 metric tons. It created a fireball seen over Cagayan Valley, Calabarzon and Cordillera Administrative Region. Delayed and concurrent sound heard.

2024, September. Ukraine. A baby white-sided dolphin has been washed up on the coast of the Tuzly Estuaries National Nature Park in Odesa Oblast. A dead bottlenose dolphin was also found near the national park in the village of Hrybivka. Dolphins had also washed up on the Black Sea coast in Bulgaria and on the Sea of Azov coast earlier. About 50,000 dolphins perished in the Black Sea over the first eight months of the full-scale war.

2024, September 6. Timor Sea/Indian Ocean. S.W of the Indonesian Island of Sumba. Airburst. Time:12:36. Coordinates: (-12.9, 118). e = 2.1, -e = 0.076 or 76,000 kg/TNT. Altitude: 27km. Velocity: 22.6 km/s.

2024, September 6. Indonesia, Liliweri, Alor Regency, East Nusa Tenggara. A total of 17 pilot whales (Globicephala macrorhynchus) were found dead stranded on the coast. The condition of these whales was poor with wounds from being hit by rocks on the coast, each about 10 to 15 meters apart. East Nusa Tenggara Maritime Affairs and Fisheries Service, police, village government and local communities are organizing the burial. (See also February 5 and May 24 Airbursts).

2024, September 10. USA, California, Carmel River State Beach. A stranded killer whale rescued died while in transport to Santa Cruz’s Long Marine Laboratory.

2024, September 10. USA, California, Ventura County, Port Hueneme. A dead minke whale washed up along the coast. Was found near a jetty close to the lighthouse.

2024, September 11. North Sea. Fireball. Drenthe, Friesland, Gelderland, Groningen and Schleswig-Holstein. Time:around 19:10. UT. 21:10CEST. Travelling N.N.W.

2024, September 14. South Africa, St Helena Bay, located at Sandy Point Beach Estate on the West Coast, Cape Town. Dead Humpback floating offshore. 20 days after August 25^th airburst.

2024, September 14. USA, Long Island, Cupsogue Beach in Westhampton Beach. A dead whale landed at on Saturday morning. The whale carcass, a 62-foot finback whale, is not intact due to “significant predation and decomposition”.

2024, September 14. India, Visakhapatnam. A dead Spinner dolphin (Stenella Longirostris) washed ashore at RK Beach. ‘dead strandings’. Responding unit East Coast Conservation Team (ECCT), Andhra Pradesh Forest Department.

2024, September 17. Malayia, Kuala Sungai Padang area. The carcass of a Irrawaddy dolphin (Orcaella brevirostris), weighing about 130kg. The dolphin has been dead for three days. The carcass did not find any injury on the body and the cause of its death is still under investigation.

2024, September 16. USA, Cape Cod, Linnell Landing. 14 bottlenose dolphins stranded with three confirmed dead. In just the last two weeks, rescue agencies have responded to 26 dolphin strandings, both common and bottlenose, so we have been on high alert and monitoring their movements closely.

2024, September 22. USA, Oregon, Hug Point State Park in Clatsop County. A giant sunfish, (mola mola). Washed up on an beach for the third time this summer. Three sunfish have washed up on beaches in the county since June. A mola tecta, or hoodwinker sunfish, washed up in June, followed by another mola mola in August.

2024, September 22. Thailand, Kata Noi Beach in Phuket. A rare Risso’s dolphin carcass, tragically entangled in a pile of rubbish. The Rare and Endangered Marine Animals Group, part of the Upper Andaman Marine and Coastal Resources Research Center (MCRC) is investigating.

2024, September 22. UK, Hartlepool. The whale was spotted at the Headland. Experts believe it to be a Minke.

2024, September 22. USA, Texas, near Kahala Beach on Galveston Island. A dead pygmy sperm whale (Kogia breviceps) was found stranded.

2024, September 25. UK, Headland Beach, Hartlepool. Believed to be a minke or fin whale and is unable to be moved.

2024, September 26. Indonesia, Teritip Beach, about 35 kilometers north of Balikpapan, East Kalimantan. Cachalot. The mammal had reportedly been stranded for 4 days before dying.

Return of the whales

Whale party off Martha’s Vineyard and southeast of Nantucket after years of airburst activity. Orcas eating tuna, large pods of endangered Sei whales (93), Humpbacks (36), Minki whales, Sperm whales and 21 fin whales, the list goes on.

Image: (NOAA via AP), shows a pair of sperm whales visiting the waters off New England on May 25, 2024.

Large whale group spotted off New England includes orca eating a tuna, dozens of endangered species (thestar.com)

Killer Whales and Humpbacks Among 161 Whales Spotted Off Nantucket and Martha's Vineyard - Newport Buzz (thenewportbuzz.com)

Airbursts - 2016, January 1 to 2023 January 1.

Airbursts - 2023 January 1 to 2024 January 1.

Airburst in North Atlantic

2024, May 15. Canada, Newfoundland. North of Fogo Island. North Atlantic. Airburst. (Latitude: 49.8, Longitude: -54.1). e= 2.8. -e+ 0.098 or equivalent energy of 98,000 kg/TNT. Altitude 64.2 km.

Cachalot (sperm whale) calf strands and dies in New South Wales. Updated 15:26 AEDT on the 20240322

2024, March 21. Australia, New South Wales, Illawarra, Primbee Beach, Windang. A calf cachalot (sperm whale) died. Just a baby at just a few weeks old the whale washed up on the shore of an Illawarra beach. It was alive when first located but died shortly after.

I've placed the information from the post titled:  Tasman Sea Meteor and Update, here with my view of the situation.

2024, March 13. Tasman Sea. Meteor. (-41.98, 166.00). Time: 14:02 (UTC). Duration: 3.93 seconds. Because of its distance from New Zealand, locality and time of year; this event could produce marine animal disturbance. See map below.

Update: Approximately 7 hours before the event above a large fireball was seen travelling N.W. across the central South Island of New Zealand travelling towards the Tasman Sea. The green meteor lit up the sky for 5.5 seconds and was first detected at a height of 90 km. It descended at approximately 45 degrees and dismantled and disappeared at 25 kilometres. It produced a sonic boom and was travelling in the same direction as the one that would follow. Meteorite has been recovered.

2024, March 13. New Zealand, Canterbury, Otago and Southland. Approximate Time: 08:08 (UTC). 

The day before stranding in Australia: 2024, March 20. New Zealand, south of Christchurch, Birdlings Flat Beach, near Lake Ellesmere. Kaitorete Spit in Canterbury. Black Dolphin. The whale was euthanised later in the day.

In all likelihood, the calf has been separated from its pod after atmospheric disturbance (VLF Radio Waves) or an interaction with the water causing a panic situation. Placing this all together it is likely a meteor (a couple of kilos or so) has hit the Tasman Sea. It should be noted that even though the above two events were detected it doesn't mean something wasn't and could have been larger than the two events depicted.

New South Wales, Illawarra, Primbee Beach, Windang

ORRCA

ORRCA is always looking for volunteers.

Pilot Whale strands in New Zealand - Search for more. Update later today. Update 22nd of March

2024, March 20. New Zealand, Kaitorete Spit in Canterbury. South of Christchurch, Birdlings Flat Beach, near Lake Ellesmere. Black Dolphin (Pilot Whale). Attempts to refloat it will begin at 1:30pm today at high tide. Authorities are concerned about a larger group coming ashore therefore a search is underway along the coastline. 

Black Dolphin. The whale was euthanised later in the day.

It comes after two large meteors were detected on the 13th. (See post below)

2024, March 13. New Zealand, Canterbury, Otago and Southland. Approximate Time: 08:08 (UTC).

Meteorites recovered.

2024, March 13. Tasman Sea, East of South Island New Zealand. Meteor. (-41.98, 166.00). Time: 14:02 (UTC). Duration: 3.93 seconds.

Whale stranded on Christchurch beach, DOC and rescue team working together | Newshub