Asteroid disintegrates safely in ‘fireball’ flash over the Philippines

The asteroid, known as 2024 RW1, is only the ninth to have been spotted before its impact with the Earth’s atmosphere, the European Space Agency said.

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

The asteroid – measuring about 1 metre (3 feet) across – was spotted by astronomers in Arizona before it broke apart above the western Pacific Ocean near Luzon Island in the Philippines, on Wednesday, at around 16:46 GMT.

The space rock, named 2024 RW1, is “just the ninth that humankind has ever spotted before impact”, the European Space Agency (ESA) said, though asteroids around this size hurtle towards Earth about every two weeks without posing any danger.

NASA’s Asteroid Watch website had forecasted that the impact could produce a “fireball” visible from the east coast of the Philippines, prompting people to upload pictures on social media.

NASA’s Planetary Defense Coordination Office reported that multiple sensors detected the asteroid’s safe impact.

A few pictures and videos of 2024 WR1 ☄️, while waiting for more physical properies of the small near Earth asteroid and associated fireball…https://t.co/1Yycwvd8b4 pic.twitter.com/fCXeIhDjo4

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

Asteroid 2024 RW1 was discovered through the Catalina Sky Survey, which is run by the University of Arizona and funded by NASA.

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

Professor Alan Fitzsimmons, an expert in the field of asteroid and cometary science 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 can see the thing coming screaming through the sky and you’ve got time to run out the house, get the cat, jump in the car and drive somewhere. You don’t have the time to do that,” he told the magazine.

According to the ESA, small asteroids such as 2024 RW1 are rarely detected before they impact the planet.

In space, some asteroid are extremely large and could cause significant destruction if they were to collide with Earth. However, their estimated number in our Solar System is relatively small, and more than 90 percent of them are believed to have been identified. The ESA says none of these pose a risk of impact.

⚠️☄️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

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Al Jazeera and news agencies