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Here's how it works. 1. Space 2. Astronomy 3. Asteroids Scientists discover near-Earth asteroid hours before it exploded over Berlin News By Kiley Price published 22 January 2024 For only the eighth time in history, scientists detected an asteroid before it made its fiery appearance over Earth. The tiny fireball exploded near Berlin early on Jan. 21. * * * * * * * Comments (0) An asteroid flying past earth (Image credit: Shutterstock) In the wee morning hours on Sunday (Jan. 21), a tiny asteroid came hurtling through the sky and smashed into Earth's atmosphere near Berlin, producing a bright but harmless fireball visible for miles around. Such sightings typically occur a few times a year -- but this one was unique because it was first detected by scientists roughly three hours before impact -- only the eighth time that researchers have spotted one of these space rocks before it hit. The asteroid, dubbed 2024 BXI, was first discovered by self-proclaimed asteroid hunter Krisztian Sarneczky, an astronomer at the Piszkesteto Mountain Station, part of Konkoly Observatory in Hungary. He identified the cosmic rock using the 60-cm Schmidt telescope at the observatory. Shortly after the space rock's discovery, NASA gave a detailed prediction of where and when the meteor would strike. "Heads Up: A tiny asteroid will disintegrate as a harmless fireball west of Berlin near Nennhausen shortly at 1:32am CET. Overseers will see it if it's clear!" NASA tweeted on the night of Jan. 20. A live camera in the city of Leipzig in northern Germany caught footage of the exceptionally bright meteor, watching it appear and disappear in the span of a few seconds. The asteroid, which measured an estimated 3.3 feet (1 meter) wide before impact, likely started to disintegrate around 30 miles (50 kilometers) west of Berlin and "probably dropped some meteorites on the ground" along the way, Denis Vida, a postdoctoral associate in meteor physics at Western University in Canada, told CBS News. Sarneczky has discovered hundreds of asteroids in recent years, and was the first to detect asteroid 2022 EB5 around two hours before it slammed into Earth's atmosphere. He used Konkoly Observatory data to spot that incoming rock, too. Another *incredible* shot of the small asteroid burning up above Germany just moments ago--wow. pic.twitter.com/OGl0GuWGe6January 21, 2024 See more His sighting is incredibly unusual. According to the European Space Agency, 99% of near-Earth asteroids smaller than 98 feet (30 meters) across have not yet been discovered. The smaller an asteroid is, the closer it must be to Earth before scientists can detect it, which can make it difficult to forecast impacts in advance, experts say. In some cases, near-Earth asteroids can hide in the glare of the sun, such as the meteor that shot out from the direction of the rising sun over the city of Chelyabinsk, Russia, in 2013. That surprise space rock shattered windows, temporarily blinded pedestrians, inflicted instantaneous ultraviolet burns and injured more than 1,600 people. RELATED STORIES --'Planet killer' asteroids pose no threat to Earth for at least 1,000 years -- but smaller rocks could still be a problem --How many 'city killer' asteroids narrowly miss Earth each year? -- NASA finally reveals 1st sample from potentially-hazardous asteroid Bennu -- and it may contain the seeds of life Government space agencies are currently developing new technologies to scan the skies for asteroids before they make contact with Earth, including NASA's NEO Surveyor satellite, currently planned to launch in 2027, and ESA's NEOMIR, which isn't expected to launch until after 2030. Starting in 2025, the Vera C. Rubin Observatory in Chile -- funded by the National Science Foundation -- will catalog the solar system from the ground, and is expected to greatly help asteroid-hunting efforts. "It took us 200 years to discover all the asteroids we know to date, about 1.2 million asteroids," Mario Juric, the Rubin Observatory's solar system discovery team lead and the director of the University of Washington's DiRAC Institute, told Astronomy. "In the first three to six months of Rubin, we will double that." Sign up for the Live Science daily newsletter now Get the world's most fascinating discoveries delivered straight to your inbox. [ ][ ]Contact me with news and offers from other Future brands[ ]Receive email from us on behalf of our trusted partners or sponsors[Sign me up] By submitting your information you agree to the Terms & Conditions and Privacy Policy and are aged 16 or over. Kiley Price Kiley Price Social Links Navigation Contributor Kiley Price is a former Live Science staff writer based in New York City. Her work has appeared in National Geographic, Slate, Mongabay and more. She holds a bachelor's degree from Wake Forest University, where she studied biology and journalism, and is pursuing a master's degree at New York University's Science, Health and Environmental Reporting Program. More about asteroids Asteroid in space. The 8 most Earth-shattering asteroid discoveries of 2023 This graphic shows the orbits of all the known Potentially Hazardous Asteroids (PHAs), numbering over 1,400 as of early 2013. Earth's intense gravity may rip space rocks apart, reducing the risk of 'planet killer' asteroids Latest Submarine on the background of a nuclear explosion. Will the Doomsday Clock stand still or creep closer to midnight? Here's how to watch the reveal on Tuesday. See more latest > See all comments (0) [ ] No comments yet Comment from the forums Most Popular [missing-im]This video of a robot making coffee could signal a huge step in the future of AI robotics. Why? 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