NASA detects asteroid that’s due to hit Earth’s atmosphere in a matter of hours
A newly discovered asteroid is on a collision course with Earth and will impact our atmosphere within hours.
The asteroid, named COWECP5, is predicted to streak through the skies over eastern Siberia at 11:14 a.m. ET.
Scientists say the small space rock, 2 feet in diameter, is expected to burn up in the atmosphere and poses no threat to people on the ground.
The asteroid was spotted by NASA’s Asteroid Terrestrial-impact Last Alert System, which is designed to give scientists up to a week’s notice of approaching asteroids.
It was detected seven hours before impact, which is only the twelfth time scientists have accurately reported an asteroid before impact.
This event also marks the fourth asteroid to hit Earth’s atmosphere this year.
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 already calculated the asteroid’s “impact corridor.”
The asteroid has a diameter of 65 cm and is expected to shine brightly as it enters Earth’s atmosphere over Siberia.
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.
Moissl said in a post on
Alan Fitzsimmons of Queen’s University Belfast in Ireland told the story New scientist that the asteroid will 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.”
Scientists have assured that the asteroid’s small size means it will not cause any damage when it hits the ground and people will not need to evacuate the area.
According to a 2017 study, only asteroids with a diameter of at least 18 meters are potentially deadly if they fly towards Earth.
The asteroids are also called Near-Earth Objects (NEOs) because they are within 120 million miles of the Sun
The early observation of the incoming asteroid is 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.