January 18 


18 January 2000


Artist's depiction of the Tagish Lake fireball. Credit: The Department of Physics and Astronomy, The University of Western Ontario

On January 18, 2000, a large meteoroid, about 4 meters in diameter, exploded in the atmosphere over the Tagish Lake area in British Columbia, Canada, at altitudes of 50–30 kilometres with an estimated energy release of 1.7 kilotons of TNT. The impacting meteoroid was detected by both infrared and optical sensors on board U.S. Department of Defense satellites, which timed the terminal flares to 16:43:42 UTC.  

   Meteorite fragments with a total mass of about 10 kg were collected, and are classified as a carbonaceous chondrite, type C2 ungrouped. The pieces of the Tagish Lake meteorite are dark grey to almost black in color with small light-colored inclusions, and a maximum size of ~2.3 kg. The fragments were transported in their frozen state to research facilities after they were collected by a local resident in late January, 2000. Analyses have shown that Tagish Lake fragments are of a primitive type, containing unchanged stellar dust granules that may have been part of the cloud of material that created the Solar System and Sun. The meteorite contains an abundance of organic materials, including amino acids.

The photograph of a trail left by the fireball. Credit: The Department of Physics and Astronomy, The University of Western Ontario

Fragment of the Tagish Lake meteorite. Credit: Michael Holly, Creative Services, University of Alberta


© 2026, Andrew Mirecki

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