An asteroid was spotted above northern France on February 13, and is the seventh object to be spotted in space before impact with Earth. The predicted time of the impact was 2:50 to 3:03 UTC (8:20 am to 8:33 am IST) on February 13. Observations made by European astronomer Krisztián Sárneczky using the 60 cm Schmidt telescope from the Piszkéstető Observatory in Hungary made it possible for researchers to predict the time and location of the impact, according to the European Space Agency (ESA).
What is the asteroid called?
The object, called 2023 CX1, is the second impactor discovered by Krisztián, after the impact of asteroid 2022 EB5 less than a year ago.
What happened after the asteroid entered Earth’s atmosphere?
After entering Earth’s atmosphere, 2023 CX1, referred to as a fireball, burnt up and illuminated the skies, creating a stunning view. The fireball burnt up in Earth’s atmosphere at around 2:59 UTC (8:29 am IST) on February 13. Most of the observations came from the southern United Kingdom and France, and some from Belgium, the Netherlands and Germany.
For the 7th time, a small, safe asteroid was discovered in space as it raced towards Earth for impact.
Detected by @sarneczky ~7 hours before impact, the time/place of impact were determined and countless enjoyed the spectacular view.
👉☄️https://t.co/LpGvU2p8Z0 pic.twitter.com/4BeaXjvZvH
— ESA Operations (@esaoperations) February 13, 2023
It is important to know what a fireball is, and how asteroids, comets, meteors, meteoroids and meteorites are different from each other.
A fireball is a very bright meteor, generally brighter than Venus in the morning or evening sky, according to the American Meteor Society.
Asteroids, comets and meteors are planetary objects in the solar system orbiting the Sun. Asteroids are sometimes called minor planets, and are rocky remnants left over from the early formation of the solar system 4.6 billion years ago. Comets are snowballs of frozen gases, rock and dust that orbit the Sun. Meteors, also known as shooting starsare pieces of dust and debris from space that burn up in Earth’s atmosphere. A meteoroids is a small piece of asteroid that is typically pebble-sized, and could be a little smaller or a little larger, and is often created from a collision.
When a meteoroid gets close to Earth, and enters Earth’s atmosphere, it is called a meteor. Since a meteoroid enters Earth’s atmosphere at a very high speed, it burns up and produces a streak of light called a shooting star, another name for a meteor. When a meteoroid survives its trip through Earth’s atmosphere and hits the ground, it is called a meteorite.
On November 19, 2022, a fireball less than one metre in diameter seen above Ontario, Canada, became the sixth object to be detected in space before impact with Earth.
The last three predicted impacts of meteors have all occurred in the last 12 months. This is an encouraging illustration of how asteroid detection capabilities are rapidly advancing, according to the ESA.
The road to the discovery of 2023 CX1
At 20:18 UTC on February 12 (1:48 am IST on February 13), the new asteroid, initially designated Sar2667 by its discoverer, was imaged by the Piszkéstető Observatory. After the second observation of the object was taken, it was reported to the Minor Planet Center at 20:49 UTC on February 12 (2:19 am IST on February 13).
Višnjan Observatory in Croatia reported follow-up observations about 40 minutes after the initial observation by Sárneczky. The follow-up observations confirmed the object.
Various impact assessment systems around the globe calculated a 100 per cent impact probability for the object. The impact was expected above the English Channel between 02:00 to 04:00 UTC on February 13 (7:30 am IST to 9:30 am IST on February 13). The object was estimated to be around one metre in diameter and posed no threat to people or property, according to the ESA.
Astronomers around the globe observed the Earth-bound object over the next seven hours. They pinpointed the ‘impact corridor’ of the object over the English Channel with a trajectory going from west to east. The asteroid continued to be observed until just ten minutes before impact. Five minutes before impact, the object fell into Earth’s shadow becoming ‘invisible’.
The fireball lit up the skies on impact, within the expected time window. Some fragments of the meteoroid are likely to have survived their atmospheric journey and landed somewhere onshore, close to the coast north of Rouen, in Normandy, France.