Asteroid safely disintegrates in 'fireball' flash over Philippines | Space news

The asteroid, designated 2024 RW1, is only the ninth to be sighted before its impact with the Earth's atmosphere, the European Space Agency said.

A small asteroid on a collision course with Earth disintegrated safely in the atmosphere over the Philippines in a blindingly bright “fireball” flash, the space agency NASA said.

The asteroid – about one meter (3 feet) in diameter – was discovered by astronomers in Arizona before it broke apart over the western Pacific Ocean near the Philippine island of Luzon at around 4:46 p.m. GMT on Wednesday.

The space rock, designated 2024 RW1, is “only the ninth that humanity has ever discovered before impact,” the European Space Agency (ESA) said. However, asteroids of this size race toward Earth about every two weeks without posing any danger.

NASA's Asteroid Watch website had predicted that the impact could create a “fireball” visible from the east coast of the Philippines, prompting people to upload images of it on social media.

NASA's Planetary Defense Coordination Office reported that several sensors detected the asteroid's harmless impact.

A few pictures and videos of 2024 WR1 ☄️, while we wait for further physical properties of the small near-Earth asteroid and its associated fireball… pic.twitter.com/fCXeIhDjo4

— IMO Meteor Org. (@IMOmeteors) 4 September 2024

Asteroid 2024 RW1 was discovered by the Catalina Sky Survey, conducted by the University of Arizona and funded by NASA.

New Scientist magazine reported that the asteroid was expected to hit the atmosphere at a speed of 17.6 km (10.9 miles) per second, or 63,360 km (39,370 miles) per hour.

Professor Alan Fitzsimmons, an expert in asteroid and comet research at Queen's University Belfast in Northern Ireland, said the speed was about average for such objects.

“Don't be fooled by Hollywood movies where you see the thing coming screeching through the sky and you have time to run out of the house, get the cat, jump in the car and drive somewhere. You don't have time for that,” he told the magazine.

According to ESA, small asteroids like 2024 RW1 are rarely discovered before they hit the planet.

There are some asteroids in space that are extremely large and could cause significant destruction if they collide with Earth. However, their estimated number in our solar system is relatively small and more than 90 percent of them are thought to have been identified. According to ESA, none of them pose a risk of impact.

⚠️☄️Incoming!

An asteroid approximately 1 meter in diameter will impact the Earth's atmosphere over the Philippines near the island of Luzon today, September 4, at 17:08 UTC.

The object is harmless, but people in the area could see a spectacular fireball!

Discovered this morning by the Catalina Sky Survey, … pic.twitter.com/UjQLbh3fFr

— European Space Agency (@esa) 4 September 2024