Asteroid 2024 RW1 burns up in the Earth's atmosphere over the Philippines

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An asteroid about 1 meter in diameter burned up in the Earth's atmosphere over the Philippines near the island of Luzon early Wednesday afternoon, NASA said. The European Space Agency estimated that the impact occurred at 12:39 p.m. ET (4:39 p.m. UTC).

The Catalina Sky Survey discovered the object, initially named CAQTDL2 but now called 2024 RW1, this morning. According to the space agency, asteroids measuring about one meter hit Earth about every two weeks, although they are very rarely discovered before they impact the planet.

“This is only the ninth asteroid that humanity has ever discovered before impact,” ESA tweeted.

The object was harmless because it was small enough to burn up upon entering the atmosphere. Skywatchers in the area posted a video on social media capturing a spectacular fireball.