Spectacular footage has been captured of the moment an asteroid smashed into Earth’s atmosphere in Siberia.
A space rock, designated COWECP5appeared in the night sky at 11:14pm local time (11:14am ET) hours later. NASAThe asteroid detection system issued a warning.
Locals posted videos on social media showing the star streaking through the night sky and exploding in a fireball before disappearing into the abyss.
The space rock exploded in a mysterious red light over Yakutia, rising above the bright lights of the city and was seen on fire as it flew towards Olekminsk.
Yakutia’s Emergencies Ministry said all officials were on high alert as the asteroid approached, but said no damage was reported after it landed.
“Residents of Olekminsk and Lensk districts were able to see at night a comet-like tail and flash,” it said.
A NASA-supported telescope in the Arizona they identified the star about seven hours before, revealing that it was about 27 inches in diameter.
The asteroid was discovered Tuesday morning by a NASA-supported telescope. Astronomers predicted the rock would hit Earth at 11:14am ET
The small size means that it will probably burn in the air and it was not dangerous for the occupants.
COWECP5 is only the 12th time that scientists have accurately predicted an asteroid before it hit the fourth to hit our country this year.
The last space rock to take action was in October over the Pacific Ocean, which was followed by others in September and January.
Residents of Olekminsky and Lensk districts ‘saw a comet-like tail’ and shared the first videos of the event.
The Main Directorate of the Ministry of Emergency Situations of Russia said it was on high alert after reports of the asteroid were released.
The agency said that the rock did not cause any damage or harm, writing on Telegram: ‘Fortunately, the asteroid passed through space.
‘The safety of human life has not been compromised.’
The NASA-funded Kitt Peak National Observatory, a project that tracks near-Earth objects, spotted the asteroid again early Tuesday.
Richard Moissl, head of the planetary protection office at ESA, said Kitt Peak’s Aegis system calculated the asteroid’s “impact path” and narrowed it down to 125 miles east of Lensk.
The Aegis system is used by the US military to detect air and surface threats through radar technology and computer software and is the ‘multi-mission combat system in use in the world today,’ according to Lockheed Martin.
Many people living in Siberia took amazing pictures of the asteroid breaking through the Earth’s atmosphere
Local people in Siberia captured the asteroid as it passed through the night sky at the exact time NASA predicted
Ahead of the asteroid’s entrance, Alan Fitzsimmons at Queen’s University Belfast in Ireland explained. The New Scientist that the asteroid would not pose a threat to people on the ground.
“It’s small, but it’s going to be impressive,” Fitzsimmons said.
‘There will be darkness over the affected area and for several hundred kilometers around there will be a spectacular, very bright fire in the sky.’
According to a 2017 study, only asteroids are around 60 meters in diameter it is dangerous if it goes to Earth.
First view of an asteroid is coming it was unique because very few had been seen before it entered Earth’s atmosphere, but Fitzsimmons said it was a good sign that astronomers were able to detect the asteroid so quickly.
The Main Directorate of the Ministry of Emergency Situations of Russia said that it became alert after reports of the asteroid were released.
‘It’s a win for science, and (for) anyone who’s in Siberia this evening,’ Fitzsimmons told New Scientist, adding: ‘There’s something to take your mind off the heat for sure.’
These asteroids are classified as Near Earth Objects (NEOs) because they come within 120 million kilometers of the Sun due to the gravitational pull of other nearby planets.
As more asteroids are observed, the accuracy with which astronomers can predict where an object will be years or decades into the future improves dramatically.
