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As you lived your life on December 18, 2018, a giant space rock exploded more than 16 km from the surface of the Earth, releasing 10 times more energy than the atomic bomb over Hiroshima. Not serious.
The event is rightly called a "fireball," NASA's term for "exceptionally bright meteors and spectacular enough to be seen on a very large area."
With an impact energy of 173 kilotons, the December fireball was the second most powerful to have entered the Earth's atmosphere in 30 years. You may remember the first – this huge blinding fireball that rocked parts of Russia in 2013.
It may sound catastrophic, but the shared images of the December Fireball are actually quite poetic. This atomic force from another world appears as a simple red glow over the clouds.
But you probably did not know it until now, because scientists have only noticed it. This is because the area where the fireball exploded, over the Bering Sea, is extremely isolated.
NASA's Global Defense Officer Lindley Johnson told the BBC that such a powerful meteorite event only happens a few times every 100 years. (Note: "Planetary Defense Officer" is probably as close to the real "Avengers" title as you can not get it.)
CNN contacted NASA for an additional comment.
If you are not worried enough that inflamed extraterrestrial objects continually invade our fragile planet, they do so with alarming regularity.
NASA closely follows most of the remarkable fireballs and racing cars (a similar astronomical term) that reach the Earth. Up until 2019, there have already been five notable Fireball events. Do not worry, though! Most are super tiny.
And if any of the big ones ever wants to make us dinosaurs, NASA's Planetary Defense Office has our backs.
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