The asteroid entered Earth's atmosphere at 11:15 a.m. ET over Yakutia in northeastern Siberia, creating a massive fireball.

Summary

A 27-inch asteroid, C0WEPC5, entered Earth’s atmosphere over Siberia on Tuesday, creating a harmless but visible fireball.

This marked Earth’s fourth detected asteroid strike of the year and only the 11th “imminent impactor” ever recorded.

The asteroid was detected by the Kitt Peak National Observatory ahead of impact, showcasing advancements in asteroid detection.

Separately, a larger asteroid, 2020 XR, measuring 1,200 feet in diameter, will safely pass Earth on Wednesday at a distance of 1.37 million miles.

  • CanadaPlus@lemmy.sdf.orgEnglish
    21·
    22 days ago

    AFAIK meteors come with a velocity spread of about a digit, which translates to a couple digits of energy, and then back to a single digit of blast radius. In Siberia that’s a nothingburger all around.

    Also, the headline did say “massive”.