An asteroid visited Earth, and you probably didn't notice anything
Don't panic, it's not the apocalypse yet. © Hamara/Shutterstock
When the words “asteroid” and “Earth” are in the same sentence, the very human first instinct may be to panic. Don't call Bruce Willis just yet, however, since the asteroid that entered our Earth's atmosphere on Tuesday, November 3, did no damage.
A small asteroid spotted just before it transformed into a meteor
It must be said that C0WEPC5 (or 2024 XA1), this is its temporary name, was only 70 cm. Nothing unmanageable for the earth's atmosphere, which disintegrated it in a fleeting ball of fire that it was possible to observe in eastern Siberia around 5:15 p.m. A good thing Russia did not believe in a Ukrainian missile.
As shown in the few videos captured of the event, you had to be quick and lucky to see this car. It remains to be seen whether debris could be recovered for study, the main interest of this type of impact for scientists. This is also the fourth recorded event of this kind this year 2024, out of a total of twelve since 2008.
Astronomers from the Kitt Peak National Observatory (United States) had spotted C0WEPC5 a few hours before its arrival here, as notably reported by the ESA (European Space Agency). Fortunately, for larger asteroids, both ESA and NASA have monitoring systems to try to deflect them before they collide with Earth.
