An asteroid turns into a fireball before colliding with Earth in Germany... What's the story?

2024-01-22 2024-01-22T11:37:22Z

Arab Weather - A small asteroid penetrated the Earth's atmosphere on Sunday morning, illuminating the sky in eastern Germany. Video clips of the incident spread on social media, showing a glowing object landing over Europe. Experts later confirmed that the bright light resulted from the explosion of a small asteroid.

According to astronomers and observers, the asteroid provisionally designated as 2024 BX1, also known as Sar2736, touched down outside Berlin near Nynhausen at around 1:30 a.m. local time. Hungarian astronomer Krysztian Szarnieczky was the first to detect the asteroid's approach several hours before it impacted. , according to the International Astronomical Union.

NASA also announced the incident at least 20 minutes before the collision, and the space agency issued a warning, explaining that the asteroid would disintegrate in the form of a harmless fireball west of Berlin near Nynhausen at exactly 1:32 am CET, and invited viewers to follow the event. If the sky is clear.

This incident represents the eighth time that an asteroid has been discovered before it collides with Earth, and the third time that Christian Sarnitsky has discovered an asteroid heading towards the planet. Sarnitsky is considered a well-known “asteroid hunter,” as he previously discovered two asteroids that fell in succession over France in 2023 and the Arctic Ocean in Year 2022.

Prague's view of #Sar2736 : a minor planet entering Earth's atmosphere on Jan 21, 2024, at 00:32 UT. pic.twitter.com/KXDnBvzmGX

— Hanjie Tan (@HonkitTan) January 21, 2024

How big was the asteroid?

The asteroid that penetrated Earth's atmosphere was about one meter long from tip to tip, according to Dennis Vida, a doctoral fellow specializing in meteor physics at Western University in Canada. Vida also leads the Global Meteor Project, which aims to enhance monitoring of meteorites globally from Through a collaborative network of cameras directed at space.

Vida shared a wonderful video clip of the falling asteroid, which was recorded by a live broadcast camera in the German city of Leipzig, and the footage was published on Vida explained in statements that the asteroid began to disintegrate about 50 kilometers (about 30 miles) west of Berlin.

It is worth noting that the asteroid is also known as Sar2736, and has undergone an official naming process by the International Astronomical Union's Minor Planet Center. The asteroid has been designated 2024 BX1, according to reports by EarthSky. The Minor Planet Center, supported by NASA's Near-Earth Object Observing Program, plays a key role in collecting comprehensive data on comets and "irregular exo-satellites of major planets."