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.

  • Flying SquidM
    link
    English
    710 hours ago

    Feel free to criticize the Jerusalem Post for other reasons, they deserve it, but their reports on near-miss asteroids where they compare their size to random things is always amusing.

    https://www.jpost.com/tags/asteroid

    • @ProfessorProteus
      link
      English
      59 hours ago

      It’s amusing, but not very helpful. Granted, what could the average reader do with an exact size, besides adjust their level of panic?

      On second thought, the first one is very easy to picture 😺😸