The 2023 May 20 Queensland Superbolide: Multimodal Observations from Atmospheric Entry to Postdisruption Dust Cloud

On 2023 May 20, a ∼3.7 m diameter asteroid entered Earth’s atmosphere over northwest Queensland, Australia, at 27.9 km s −1 and underwent catastrophic fragmentation at ∼29 km altitude, producing 1 of the 20 most energetic bolide events reported by NASA’s Center for Near-Earth Object Studies (CNEOS) since 1988 and the most energetic over Australia (∼7.1 kt TNT equivalent). We present a multimodal analysis integrating CNEOS optical data, trajectory determination, infrasound detections at six International Monitoring System stations (up to 8030 km), seismic observations, and Himawari-9 geostationary satellite thermal infrared imagery. Infrasound observations independently confirm a multikiloton source, and the infrasound-derived source altitude (30 ± 5 km) is consistent with the CNEOS-reported peak brightness altitude. We report the first nighttime detection and mass quantification of a bolide dust cloud from geostationary orbit; the cloud persisted for over 1 hr, yielding a dust mass of 10.9–32.8 metric tons (14%–43% of the preatmospheric mass). With an estimated recurrence interval of ∼1.5 yr for events of this energy or greater, the Queensland superbolide provides an end-to-end observational benchmark for atmospheric entry models and planetary defense.