The asteroid entered Earth's atmosphere at 11:15 a.m. ET over Yakutia in northeastern Siberia, creating a massive fireball.

Summary

A 27-inch asteroid, C0WEPC5, entered Earth’s atmosphere over Siberia on Tuesday, creating a harmless but visible fireball.

This marked Earth’s fourth detected asteroid strike of the year and only the 11th “imminent impactor” ever recorded.

The asteroid was detected by the Kitt Peak National Observatory ahead of impact, showcasing advancements in asteroid detection.

Separately, a larger asteroid, 2020 XR, measuring 1,200 feet in diameter, will safely pass Earth on Wednesday at a distance of 1.37 million miles.

  • IninewCrow@lemmy.caEnglish
    15·
    20 days ago

    I think many of these asteroids are caused by an intergalactic alien game of ‘Road Bowling’ and aliens just drunkenly throwing asteroids as far as they can while having a laugh at the local bar.

    • fluxion@lemmy.worldEnglish
      22·
      20 days ago

      They usually try to avoid planets with intelligent life but we recently fell below the threshold

    • Tujio@lemmy.worldEnglish
      4·
      20 days ago

      They got us with the pog, missed us with the slammer.

      (I actually have no idea how pogs work)

    • Flying Squid@lemmy.worldMEnglish
      21·
      20 days ago

      There’s a not so great book called The Killing Star, where aliens that are never described in the book decide for an unknown reason that we need to be destroyed, so they just hurl as many asteroids as they can at our solar system. It worked pretty well.

      Not a bad “low-tech” way to destroy a rival civilization in another solar system. A good idea in an otherwise disappointing book.

      • toynbee@lemmy.worldEnglish
        3·
        20 days ago

        You might enjoy a similar plotline in the excellent Bobiverse book series. (I don’t think it shows up until the second or maybe even third book, so don’t go in expecting that immediately.)

        • Flying Squid@lemmy.worldMEnglish
          1·
          20 days ago

          Just glancing at what those books are about, they sound fun and I’ll check them out, thanks. In the case of The Killing Star, that was the plot point that attracted me to it, but the execution was clumsy and the ending was not exactly a cliffhanger, but it didn’t feel like a resolution either.

          When I was done reading it, my dog decided it needed to be chewed up. It was the only time she ever chewed up a book. I guess she felt even more strongly about it than I did.

          • toynbee@lemmy.worldEnglish
            3·
            20 days ago

            Yeah, I know that kind of book you mean. It’s not a popular opinion, but I felt similarly about Annihilation (though I only read the first book of the series, so maybe things would have improved later).