(CNN) While you were living your life on December 18th, 2018, a giant space rock exploded 16 miles above the Earth's surface, giving off 10 times the energy of the atomic bomb detonated over Hiroshima. No big deal.

The event is properly called a "fireball," NASA's term for "exceptionally bright meteors that are spectacular enough to to be seen over a very wide area."

With an impact energy of 173 kilotons, December's fireball was the second-most powerful to enter Earth's atmosphere in 30 years. You may recall the first -- it was that huge, blinding fireball that rocked parts of Russia in 2013.

This may sound catastrophic, but images being shared of December's fireball are actually quite poetic in scale. This atomic, otherworldly force appears as a simple red blip above the clouds.

Some colour views of the #meteor that flew over the North Pacific in December 2018, taken by Japan's #Himawari satellite.

The meteor is really clear here - bright orange fireball against the blue + white background!



Background: https://t.co/r403SQxicZ pic.twitter.com/ctNN8zxsXb — Simon Proud (@simon_sat) March 18, 2019

But you likely didn't know about it until now, because scientists only just noticed it. That's because the area where the fireball exploded, over the Bering Sea, is extremely remote.

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