A meteorite that the Russian space agency Roscosmos had classified as ‘potentially dangerous’ hit this Tuesday in the region of Yakutialocated in Eastern Siberiabetween the towns of Okeminsk and Lensk. So much Roscosmos like the European Space Agency (ESA) had previously warned of the arrival of this asteroid, called C0WECP5and the area in which it was going to fall.
Roscosmos estimated that the meteorite would have a size of between half a meter and two meterswhich led him to classify it as ‘potentially dangerous’. According to Russian scientists, the meteorite would be visible, like a fireball, from a distance of 700 kilometers. ‘After entering the atmosphere you will see a very bright explosion and probably even hear a roar like thunder,’ said the astronomer. Vladilen Sanakoyevwho also estimated that the Earth’s surface could reach up to a tenth of its initial mass, estimated at 5 tons. That is, some 500 kilograms.
HoweverESA’s warning was less alarmist than that of the Russian space agency. In a publication on X before the impact, the ESA explained that ‘a small asteroid has just been detected on a collision course with Earth. With a diameter of about 70 cm, the impact will be harmless and will probably produce a nice fireball in the sky over northern Siberia in about seven hours, at 5:15 p.m. (Peninsular time)’.
☄️ Asteroid #C0WEPC5 (temporary designation) entered Earth’s atmosphere at 16:15 UTC/17:15 CET, creating a fireball over Yakutia witnessed by people in the region.
The object was discovered roughly 12 hours ago and is thought to have been around 70 cm across.
Thanks to… https://t.co/ohya9xsEak
—European Space Agency (@esa) December 3, 2024
Hours later, the ESA confirmed that the meteorite, indeed 70 cm, had fallen in Yakutia and that the fireball generated as it entered the atmosphere had been seen by the inhabitants of the region.
According to NewScientist, Alan Fitzsimmonsprofessor at Queen’s University Belfast and asteroid expert, explained that an object of this size does not represent any risk to those on the groundbut that early warning is a positive sign that our ability to detect these entities before they impact Earth is growing. ‘It’s small, but it will still be quite spectacular. It will be dark above the impact site and for several hundred kilometers around there will be a very impressive and bright fireball in the sky‘ Fitzsimmons said.
A meteorite has fallen in Yakutia, Russia pic.twitter.com/mLXQunAOcY
— NEXTA (@nexta_tv) December 3, 2024
It is not uncommon for small meteorites to fall to Earth; in fact, C0WEPC5 is the fourth impact that takes place in 2024.
The early warning of small meteorites It allows astronomers to observe them, obtain data and recover fragments that survive entry into the atmosphere. Both NASA and ESA now have specific programs for asteroid detection and tracking. which involve a large network of specialized observatories, as well as amateur astronomers who take readings of the positions of known objects so that their orbits can be better understood and predicted.
This last asteroid was detected by the NASA’s Asteroid Land Impact Last Alert System (ATLAS)which has four telescopes operating around the world and is designed to give up to a week’s warning of impacts. C0WEPC5 was detected 12 hours in advance and the time of impact could be predicted with a margin of error of only 10 seconds.