Surprise asteroid illuminates the night sky over the Philippines
A surprise asteroid streaked across the sky over the Philippines. In the middle of the night, a bright flash of light was visible momentarily. Interestingly, the asteroid entered Earth's atmosphere just a few hours after its discovery.
6:52 AM EDT, September 5, 2024
Nowadays, the sky is well monitored. Both large space centers and amateur enthusiasts conduct observations. Despite this, some asteroids still manage to surprise us.
The asteroid, named 2024 RW1, was discovered as part of NASA’s Catalina Sky Survey program just a few hours before it reached Earth's atmosphere. It was a small object, about three feet in diameter, and posed no threat due to its size.
Objects the size of 2024 RW1 cannot threaten anything on Earth because they burn up in the atmosphere. According to Science Alert, even if reports indicate that an asteroid has "reached Earth," it means it reached the atmosphere.
The asteroid surprised us
According to Science Alert, such small objects are rarely discovered before reaching Earth. The European Space Agency (ESA) states that asteroids with one-meter diameter reach our planet roughly every two weeks. While this may be surprising, detecting such a small, non-threatening, low-brightness object is a success.
2024 RW1 was a small asteroid whose speed was not particularly impressive. According to the ESA, this object traveled 39,444 miles per hour, close to the average speed of asteroids.
Such small objects pose no threat to people, buildings, or other structures on Earth. However, larger objects have impacted our planet in the past. For example, in 2013, the Chelyabinsk meteorite injured about 1,500 people in Chelyabinsk. In another instance, the Chicxulub Asteroid's impact led to the dinosaurs' extinction, completely changing life on Earth.
