American space agency NASA has confirmed that early on Wednesday afternoon, over Luzon Island in the Philippines, a minor asteroid, about the size of a meter, broke apart in Earth’s atmosphere.
Astronomers in Arizona initially discovered the space rock, known as 2024 RW1, a few hours before it entered the Earth. There was a brilliant flare in the sky as the asteroid burnt up over the Philippine shore.
2024 RW1 is only the ninth asteroid to be detected before impact, according to the European Space Agency. The incident strengthens astronomers’ increasing capacity to foresee the presence of near-Earth objects.
The beautiful celestial event was caught on camera and shared on social media: an orange tail that vanished fast and a green fireball that flashed, lighting up the sky behind clouds. A bright green flame could be seen blazing across the Philippines in many of the internet videos.
Watch the video here:
Here’s how Asteroid RW1 looks like from Gonzaga, Cagayan, Philippines. Best shot so far!! ? pic.twitter.com/eYgQsHqxFP
— Raymon Dullana (@raymongdullana) September 4, 2024
The impact was expected to be visible from the east coast of the nation as a fireball, according to NASA’s Asteroid Watch prediction. Space aficionados all around the world were captivated by the spectacle in no time.
⚠️☄️Incoming!
A roughly 1 metre asteroid will strike Earth’s atmosphere over the Philippines near Luzon Island at 17:08 UTC today, 4 September.
The object is harmless, but people in the area may see a spectacular fireball!
Discovered this morning by the Catalina Sky Survey,… pic.twitter.com/UjQLbh3fFr
— European Space Agency (@esa) September 4, 2024
The impact of the asteroid was confirmed by various sensors, according to NASA’s Planetary Defence Coordination Office. This sighting, which came just hours after astronomers first noticed the tiny asteroid, increased popular curiosity with the celestial event.
