An asteroid, no more than 70 centimeters in diameter, is on a collision course with Earth. The asteroid, named C0WEPC5, is expected to burn over Northern Siberia as soon as it enters the Earth’s atmosphere. This marks only the 11th instance where an asteroid’s impact on Earth was successfully predicted ahead of time, and fourth only this year.
The impact is expected at approximately 9:45 PM IST, with a possible margin of error of five minutes. Experts have reassured that the event poses no threat, likely producing a stunning fireball without causing any significant damage. Small asteroids like these often disintegrate harmlessly, as their size usually prevents them from withstanding the intense heat of atmospheric entry.
The European Space Agency announced the incoming approach of this asteroid on the microblogging site X. The post read, “A small asteroid has just been spotted on a collision course with Earth. At around ~70 cm in diameter, the impact will be harmless, likely producing a nice fireball in the sky over northern Siberia around seven hours from now at ~16:15 +/- 05 min UTC (17:15 +/-5 min CET).”
The particular asteroid was discovered by the Kitt Peak National Observatory in Tucson Arizona. As mentioned earlier, this is the fourth asteroid that will impact Earth, the first one was in January, when we saw a brilliant fireball streak across the skies of Berlin, leaving behind exceptionally rare meteorites. In September, another fireball exploded over the Philippines, followed by one over the Pacific in October.
However, since the expected area of impact is scarcely populated, there is not much possibility of getting great footage, but this makes for a great opportunity for enthusiasts to witness the event.
The first asteroid was detected in 2008 using radar technology, which allowed scientists to track its trajectory and gather valuable data about its size, shape, and composition. This marked a significant milestone in our ability to monitor near-Earth objects (NEOs). The next was only detected six years later. Early detection of these cosmic objects will help with the deflection, or at the very least can save human lives.
Today, several international programs and observatories are dedicated to tracking asteroids. These include NASA’s Center for Near-Earth Object Studies (CNEOS), the European Space Agency’s (ESA) Near-Earth Object Coordination Centre (NEOCC), and various ground-based telescopes around the world.
The harmless impact of asteroid C0WEPC5 highlights the growing accuracy of asteroid detection systems. While small objects like this pose no threat, advancements in tracking and predicting asteroid trajectories are crucial for safeguarding Earth from larger, potentially hazardous ones in the future.
What are Near-Earth objects
NEOs are asteroids or comets that pass within 1.3 astronomical units of the sun, which is about 45 million kilometers from Earth’s orbit.