Watch: Asteroid On ‘Collision Course’ With Earth Explodes Over Russia

Last Updated:December 04, 2024, 13:48 IST

Videos of a small asteroid entering Earth’s atmosphere and creating a bright fireball over Yakutia, Russia, have left social media users excited.

A small asteroid hit Earth’s atmosphere on Tuesday night which created a bright ‘fireball’ in the sky over northeastern Russia. People in the remote Sakha republic of Siberia gathered outside in the snow to watch the amazing event as the asteroid disintegrated mid-air. Astronomers from various global space agencies had discovered the space rock only 12 hours before its entry into the Earth’s atmosphere, the European Space Agency (ESA) confirmed.

According to the space agency, the asteroid, dubbed as COWEPC5, estimated to be about 70 cm in size, entered Earth’s atmosphere at 1:15 local time (16:15 GMT) and created a fireball over Yakutia, Russia. Astronomers from different countries accurately predicted when the asteroid would enter, estimating the time of entry to within +/- 10 seconds.

“Asteroid #C0WEPC5 (temporary designation) entered Earth’s atmosphere at 16:15 UTC/17:15 CET, creating a fireball over Yakutia witnessed by people in the region. The object was discovered roughly 12 hours ago and is thought to have been around 70 cm across. Thanks to observations from astronomers around the world, our alert system was able to predict this impact to within +/- 10 seconds,” the European Space Agency (ESA) wrote in a post on X.

As the asteroid entered Earth’s atmosphere, it broke into smaller pieces, probably spreading across a remote forest area in Yakutia. According to a BBC report, the Sakha emergencies ministry had warned local officials to stay alert. Fortunately, the officials confirmed that the event caused no harm.

NASA credited the discovery of the asteroid to the University of Arizona’s Bok telescope. The American space agency stated on Tuesday, “At 11.14am EST, a very small asteroid will impact the Earth’s atmosphere and create a harmless fireball over eastern Russia’s Olyokminsky district.”

Videos of the event quickly spread online as many residents recorded the stunning light show.

Social media users took to the comment section to share varied reactions on the amazing event.

One user expressed, “Amazing they could pick up, track and predict something so small really,” while another simply wrote, “Wow.”

An individual jokingly wrote, “Wait – that’s not the mother ship?!! I thought there was supposed to be an alien invasion today lol.”

“Is it the aliens?” a viewer sarcastically asked.

This asteroid is similar to previous ones like 2022 WJ, 2023 CX1, and 2024 BX1, which also caused stunning fireball displays when they entered the atmosphere.