EarthSpace

Small asteroid hit Earth’s atmosphere Thursday, Sep 5

Posted by
Kelly Kizer Whitt
and
September 5, 2024


Click on the video above to watch the asteroid’s fiery entry into our atmosphere and hear the excited witnesses.

No damage as small asteroid strikes Earth’s atmosphere

A small asteroid – approximately 3 feet (1 meter) wide – struck Earth’s atmosphere at around 12:39 a.m. PHST Thursday, September 5, 2024 (16:39 UTC on September 4, 2024) over Lal-lo, Cayagan, in the Philippines.

The International Astronomical Union designated the object 2024 RW1. NASA’s Planetary Defense Coordination Office reported the strike via X.com.

An alert was issued by the European Space Agency well before the object arrived. The asteroid, as expected, burned up in Earth’s atmosphere. And it created a dazzling green fireball as it fell. But there’s a possibility some meteorites may have made it to the ground.

Videos of the event are spectacular

Hundreds of Filipinos – alerted to the asteroid’s impending arrival – waited and watched the skies. And many captured the streaming fireball as it passed overhead … then exploded!

Finding small asteroids before they hit is rare

This is only the 9th time we’ve spotted an asteroid before it struck us. And it was Jacqueline Fazekas at the Catalina Sky Survey in Arizona who discovered this asteroid just about eight hours before impact. The asteroid had the provisional designation CAQTDL2. It has since been renamed 2024 RW1.

Small asteroid: Distant Earth in space with a gray, irregular, cratered rocky object in foreground.
View larger. | Near-Earth Objects (NEOs) are asteroids that could potentially hit us at some point, or at least come very close, as in this artist’s illustration. Astronomers search for them, and track them. Yesterday (September 4, 2024), an astronomer in Arizona discovered a small asteroid would strike Earth’s atmosphere later that day. Image via urikyo33/ Pixabay.

Why the discovery of a small asteroid is a good thing

Here’s the good news! We’re getting better at spotting asteroids before they hit us. Here was a discovery that caused a stir in March 2022 before it hit hours later. And here’s another example from earlier this year.

The International Meteor Organization said:

… the main highlights will be a major fireball and potential meteorites recoveries, but this remain a dramatic and scienitifcally valuable event.

If you saw or recorded the event, send your observations to the International Meteor Organization here.

Bottom line: A small asteroid harmlessly hit Earth’s atmosphere above the northern Philippines around 16:39 UTC on September 5, 2024. Here are the amazing videos people in the area recorded.

Posted 
September 5, 2024
 in 
Earth

Kelly Kizer Whitt

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About the Author:
Kelly Kizer Whitt has been a science writer specializing in astronomy for more than two decades. She began her career at Astronomy Magazine, and she has made regular contributions to AstronomyToday and the Sierra Club, among other outlets. Her children’s picture book, Solar System Forecast, was published in 2012. She has also written a young adult dystopian novel titled A Different Sky. When she is not reading or writing about astronomy and staring up at the stars, she enjoys traveling to the national parks, creating crossword puzzles, running, tennis, and paddleboarding. Kelly lives in Wisconsin.

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