https://earthsky.org/space/small-asteroid-hit-earth-philippines-sept-4-5-2024/ [x] Sign Up for Our Amazing Newsletter! A daily update by email. Science news, great photos, sky alerts. [ ][Subscribe] Your email address will only be used for EarthSky content. ?Privacy Policy Thank you! Your submission has been received! Oops! Something went wrong while submitting the form. [eslogo] EarthSky Updates on your cosmos and world Tonight Space Sun Earth Human Best Places to Stargaze EarthSky Community Photos About Store Donate Contact Us [ ][ ] Subscribe Tonight Tonight Brightest Stars Astronomy Essentials Moon Phases Clusters Nebulae Galaxies Favorite Star Patterns Constellations Astronomy Essentials Tonight Visible planets and night sky guide for September [user] Marcy Curran [calendar] September 4, 2024 Astronomy Essentials Saturn at opposition September 8. What to expect [user] Editors of EarthSky [calendar] September 1, 2024 Astronomy Essentials Saturn's rings: Top tips for seeing those glorious rings [user] Editors of EarthSky [calendar] September 1, 2024 Space Sun Earth Human Human Spaceflight Best Places to Stargaze Community Photos View Community Photos Trending Submit a Photo About Store Donate Share: [602bdeb5d6] [602bdeb5d6] [sharelink] EarthSpace BREAKING! Small asteroid hit Earth's atmosphere today Posted by Kelly Kizer Whitt and [calendar] September 4, 2024 Here's how Asteroid RW1 looks like from Gonzaga, Cagayan, Philippines. Best shot so far!! ? pic.twitter.com/eYgQsHqxFP -- Raymon Dullana (@raymongdullana) September 4, 2024 Click on the video above to watch the asteroid's fiery entry into our atmosphere and hear the excited witnesses. No damage as small asteroid strikes Earth's atmosphere A small asteroid - approximately 1 meter (3 feet) wide - struck Earth's atmosphere at around 12:39 a.m. PHST Thursday, September 5, 2024 (16:39 UTC on September 4, 2024) over Lao-Lu, Cayagan in the Philippines. The International Astronomical Union designated the object 2024 RW1. NASA's Planetary Defense Coordination Office reported the strike via X.com. This asteroid, which safely impacted Earth's atmosphere earlier today, was designated 2024 RW1. To learn more about #planetarydefense at NASA, visit: https:// t.co/ocUZAjvrlE -- NASA Asteroid Watch (@AsteroidWatch) September 4, 2024 An alert was issued by the European Space Agency well before the object arrived. The asteroid, as expected, burned up in Earth's atmosphere. And it created a dazzling green fireball as it fell. But there's a possibility some meteorites may have made it to the ground. Videos of the event are spectacular Hundreds of Filipinos - alerted to the asteroid's impending arrival - waited and watched the skies. And many captured the streaming fireball as it passed overhead ... then exploded! ??????? ?? ?????, ???????? ???? ???! ?? Here's a clear shot of the much-awaited small asteroid 2024 RW1 ( #CAQTDL2) burning bright into a greenish 'fireball' over Lal-lo, Cagayan around 12:39 AM PhST, 05 September 2024. Did you see it too? ? ?... pic.twitter.com/B3oAm6nNdD -- ScienceKonek (@sciencekonek) September 4, 2024 Asteroid 2024 RW1 !pic.twitter.com/cR3Y7Xm1D3 -- ?? (@wandershy_) September 4, 2024 2024 RW1 seen from Ballesteros, Cagayan, Philippines. Copyright to the owner ?: Emmanuel Unite#Asteroid#2024RW1 pic.twitter.com/8fsRItkZWS -- Tony (@Lewls_T) September 4, 2024 Finding small asteroids before they hit is rare This is only the 9th time we've spotted an asteroid before it struck us. And it was Jacqueline Fazekas at the Catalina Sky Survey in Arizona who discovered this asteroid just about eight hours before impact. The asteroid had the provisional designation CAQTDL2. It has since been renamed 2024 RW1. ?UPDATE: We expect the ~1 m asteroid discovered this morning to strike Earth's atmosphere over the Philippines near Luzon Island at 16:46 UTC today. However the nearby tropical storm Yagi/Enteng will make fireball observations difficult. Stay safe everyone! https://t.co/SwzByqOlgp pic.twitter.com/ GrMxi6MaNc -- European Space Agency (@esa) September 4, 2024 Small asteroid: Distant Earth in space with a gray, irregular, cratered rocky object in foreground.View larger. | Near-Earth Objects (NEOs) are asteroids that could potentially hit us at some point, or at least come very close, as in this artist's illustration. Astronomers search for them, and track them. Today (September 4, 2024) - just hours ago - an astronomer in Arizona discovered a small asteroid that will strike Earth's atmosphere later today. Image via urikyo33/ Pixabay. Why the discovery of a small asteroid is a good thing Here's the good news! We're getting better at spotting asteroids before they hit us. Here was a discovery that caused a stir in March 2022 before it hit hours later. And here's another example from earlier this year. This detection is actually great news! This is only the ninth time that humankind has discovered an asteroid before it impacts us and is a sign of our improving planetary defence capabilities. Take a look at this graphic: https://t.co/jNz2KNE7tb And find out more about the... -- ESA Operations (@esaoperations) September 4, 2024 The International Meteor Organization said: ... the main highlights will be a major fireball and potential meteorites recoveries, but this remain a dramatic and scienitifcally valuable event. If you saw or recorded the event, send your observations to the International Meteor Organization here. Bottom line: A small asteroid harmlessly hit Earth's atmosphere above the northern Philippines around 16:39 UTC on September 4, 2024. XFacebookPinterestBufferShare Posted September 4, 2024 in Earth Kelly Kizer Whitt View Articles About the Author: Kelly Kizer Whitt has been a science writer specializing in astronomy for more than two decades. She began her career at Astronomy Magazine, and she has made regular contributions to AstronomyToday and the Sierra Club, among other outlets. Her children's picture book, Solar System Forecast, was published in 2012. She has also written a young adult dystopian novel titled A Different Sky. When she is not reading or writing about astronomy and staring up at the stars, she enjoys traveling to the national parks, creating crossword puzzles, running, tennis, and paddleboarding. Kelly lives in Wisconsin. Like what you read? Subscribe and receive daily news delivered to your inbox. [ ][Subscribe] Your email address will only be used for EarthSky content. Privacy Policy Thank you! Your submission has been received! Oops! Something went wrong while submitting the form. More from Kelly Kizer Whitt View All [right][right-whit] Landslide-triggered tsunamis becoming more common [calendar] September 3, 2024 Amazing new Mars image! A moon, a volcano, an atmosphere [calendar] September 2, 2024 SpaceX Starlink launches for September 2024 [calendar] September 1, 2024 4 asteroids named for amateur astronomer's great-grandparents [calendar] August 30, 2024 Tonight Visible planets and night sky guide for September [donate-ad-300x250-1] Comments [twitter] Twitter [facebook] Facebook [instagram] Instagram [cart] Store [dollar-sig] Donate [mail] Subscribe [esicon32_1] (c) 2020 Earthsky Communications Inc. [milkywayic] WEbsite by Milkyway.co About Contact Us Terms & PRivacy Share to... 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