A rapid descent of a small asteroid lit up the sky early Wednesday in the remote Russian region of Yakutia as it burned up after entering Earth's atmosphere. It was the first of two expected asteroid flights this week and provided a natural light show for residents of northern Siberia.
The flying space rock was about 70 centimeters (27.5 inches) in diameter and was spotted about 12 hours before its appearance in the sky, the European Space Agency said earlier Tuesday. The space agency called the asteroid “harmless” and said it created a “nice fireball” over the Yakutia area in northern Siberia.
Asteroid C0WEPC5 (placeholder) entered the atmosphere at 1:15 a.m. local time (1615 GMT), the space agency said.
“Thanks to observations from astronomers around the world, our warning system was able to predict this impact within +/- 10 seconds,” the agency said.
☄️Asteroid #C0WEPC5 (placeholder) entered Earth's atmosphere at 16:15 UTC/17:15 CET, creating a fireball over Yakutia that was witnessed by people in the region.
The object was discovered about 12 hours ago and had a diameter of about 70 cm.
Thanks to… https://t.co/ohya9xsEak
— European Space Agency (@esa) December 3, 2024
Residents of the eastern Russian republic of Yakutia shared their sightings of orbs on social media. Video footage showed the celestial stone on fire, looking like a fireball, as it entered the atmosphere.
A few minutes ago: Asteroid #C0WEPC5 Sighting reported in Olekminsk, Russia.
Source: Telegram #asteroid pic.twitter.com/q5RTrMWLDz
— Weather Monitor (@Weathermonitors) December 3, 2024
The Emergency Situations Ministry in Yakutia said all official agencies were put on alert as the asteroid approached, but no damage was reported after descent.
“Residents of Olekminsk and Lensk districts could observe a tail resembling a comet and a flash at night,” the report said.
“A small one, but (asteroid) it will still be quite spectacular and visible for hundreds of kilometers,” astronomer Alan Fitzsimmons of Queen's University Belfast told New Scientist magazine before the fireball appeared.
NASA credited the University of Arizona's Bok Telescope with the discovery of the asteroid. “At 11:14 a.m. EST, a very small asteroid will impact Earth's atmosphere and create a harmless fireball over the Olyokminsky district of eastern Russia,” the US space agency said on Tuesday.
