Incredible footage has captured the moment an asteroid crashed through Earth’s atmosphere over Siberia.
The space rock, named COWECP5, appeared in the night sky at 11:14 PM local time (11:14 AM ET).
Locals posted videos on social media showing the asteroid bursting into a ball of flame before disappearing into the abyss.
The space rock exploded in a stunning red light over Yakutia, hovering above the bright city lights and seeing flames shoot out as it flew over Olekminsk.
The Emergency Situations Ministry in Yakutia said all officials were put on alert as the asteroid approached, but noted that no damage was reported after the descent.
“Residents of Olekminsk and Lensk districts could observe a tail resembling a comet and a flash at night,” the report said.
A NASA-funded telescope in Arizona identified the asteroid about seven hours before impact, revealing it to be about 27 inches in diameter.
The asteroid was discovered early Tuesday morning by a NASA-funded telescope. Astronomers predicted that the space rock would hit Earth’s atmosphere at 11:14 a.m. ET
Many locals in Siberia captured amazing images of the asteroid breaking through Earth’s atmosphere
Its small size meant it would likely burn up in the atmosphere posed no threat to the people on the ground.
COWECP5 is only the twelfth time scientists have accurately reported an asteroid before impact, and the fourth time it has struck our planet this year.
The last space rock impact was over the Pacific Ocean in October, followed by others in September and January.
Residents in Olekminsky and Lensk districts “observed a comet-like tail and flares” and shared some of the first videos of the event.
The Main Directorate of Russia’s Ministry of Emergency Situations said it had been put on high alert after reports of the asteroid were released.
The agency reported that the space rock caused no damage or casualties, writing on Telegram: “Fortunately the asteroid flew through the atmosphere.
“The safety of the lives of the population has not been endangered.”
The NASA-funded Kitt Peak National Observatory, a project that tracks objects near Earth, also spotted the asteroid early Tuesday.
Richard Moissl, head of the ESA’s planetary defense office, said Kitt Peak’s Aegis system had calculated the asteroid’s ‘impact corridor’ and narrowed it down to 200 kilometers east of Lensk.
The Aegis system is used by the U.S. Navy to identify air and surface threats through radar technology and computer programs and is “the most capable multi-mission combat system deployed in the world today,” according to Lockheed Martin.
Locals in Siberia captured the asteroid as it streaked across the night sky at the time NASA predicted
The Main Directorate of Russia’s Ministry of Emergency Situations said it had imposed a high state of alert after reports of the asteroid were released.
Prior to the asteroid’s entrance, Alan Fitzsimmons of Queen’s University Belfast in Ireland had explained New scientist that the asteroid would not pose a risk to people on the ground.
“It’s a small one, but it’ll still be pretty spectacular,” Fitzsimmons said.
“It will be dark over the impact site and for several hundred kilometers around there will be a very impressive, very bright fireball in the sky.”
According to a 2017 study, only asteroids with a diameter of at least 18 meters are potentially deadly if they fly towards Earth.
The early observation of the incoming asteroid was unique because very few were observed before entering Earth’s atmosphere, but Fitzsimmons reported that it is a positive sign that astronomers were able to identify the asteroid so early.
‘It’s a victory for science, and [for] anyone who happens to be in Siberia this evening,” Fitzsimmons told New Scientist, adding: “There is something to take your mind off the undoubtedly quite cold temperatures.”
These asteroids are categorized as Near-Earth Objects (NEOs) because they come within 120 million miles of the Sun thanks to the gravity of other nearby planets.
As more asteroids are observed, the accuracy with which astronomers can predict where an object will be years or decades into the future improves dramatically.