Asteroid Heading Toward Earth Blazes Across Sky in Fireball Over Siberia
The European Space Agency said that the asteroid, which was about 27.5 inches wide, was seen burning up across the sky on Dec. 3
European Space Agency/X
A photo of the impact of the asteroid from the European Space Agency.A small asteroid on a collision course with Earth made a blazing fireball across the sky.
The European Space Agency (ESA) shared in a post on X (formerly known as Twitter) that “a small asteroid” that was about 27.5 inches wide (70 centimeters) and “spotted on a collision course with Earth” on Tuesday, Dec. 3, “likely” producing a “nice fireball” over Siberia — though its impact would be "harmless."
In an update, the agency said that the space rock — which had been “discovered roughly 12 hours ago” — entered Earth's atmosphere and was “witnessed” by people in the Yakutia region around 11:15 a.m. ET (5:15 p.m. CET).
Officials noted that “thanks to observations from astronomers around the world,” they were able to predict the asteroid’s impact within 10 seconds.
Related: Stadium-Sized Asteroid Will Pass by Earth on Tuesday — and NASA Says It's Coming Back
NASA Asteroid Watch shared in an alert on X that the asteroid “was first observed with the University of Arizona's Bok telescope” and that the “impact prediction” was made by the Scout system at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory Center for Near-Earth Object Studies.
The agency noted that it would “create a harmless fireball" and would "impact Earth's atmosphere."
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Several bystanders in the area shared videos of the fireball on social media showing the asteroid blazing across the sky. In the clips, the fireball could be seen lighting up the sky in red and flashing before disappearing.
Related: Asteroid the Size of a Football Stadium Just Whizzed Past Earth — and It's Coming Back in 2032
NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) was also tracking another asteroid, known as 2020 XR, as it passed close to Earth — approximately 1.37 million miles away — on Wednesday, Dec. 4, according to USA Today. That asteroid was much larger than the one that passed over Siberia, as it was about the size of a football stadium, per the outlet.
NASA’s JPL monitors “asteroids and comets” that enter “within 120 million miles” of the sun, which is considered within the “Earth’s orbital neighborhood,” according to its website. The agency noted that asteroids can range in size from about “10 feet to nearly 25 miles.”
A “majority” of these space objects “pose no risk of impact” since they aren’t very close to Earth, a “small fraction” — known as “hazardous asteroids” — are especially paid close attention, according to NASA. The JPL assesses the “impact risk” that the asteroids and comets pose as they pass by.
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