A fiery meteor which crashed into the Atlantic Ocean exploded with the same energy of the atomic bomb that decimated Hiroshima.

On February 6 a meteor crashed into the Atlantic 1000km off the coast of Brazil.

The meteor struck the ocean off the coast of Brazil

The fireball, which initially evaded detection, exploded 30km above sea level with the force of 13,000 tons of TNT, NASA reports.

NASA estimates the 5-7 metre object almost entirely burnt up during entry into the atmosphere.

The astronomical event has been likened to 2013 meteor that exploded over Chelyabinsk, Russia which rained shrapnel down on the city below and injured more than 1000 people.

Editor of Bad Astronomy Phil Plait told Slait that due to the relatively small size of the object, even if it had exploded over a populated area it would have done little more than rattle a few windows.