A small asteroid, designated as C0WEPC5, lit up the Siberian night sky early on December 4, 2024, as it entered Earth’s atmosphere and burned up harmlessly.
The European Space Agency (ESA) reported that the asteroid, about 70 centimetres in diameter, produced a bright fireball visible across the Siberian tundra around 4.15 am (local time).
Discovery and Impact
Astronomers first detected the asteroid just hours before its descent, using the University of Arizona’s Bok telescope and Nasa-funded Catalina Sky Survey.
Nasa’s Scout system made predictions at the Jet Propulsion Laboratory’s Center for Near-Earth Object Studies (CNEOS), which confirmed the asteroid’s trajectory and imminent atmospheric entry.
According to Earthsky, the asteroid entered Earth’s atmosphere at a speed of 15.5 kilometres per second, with an angle of 58 degrees, and approached from the southeast. Sightings were reported from Yakutsk, Mirny, Norilsk, and Dudinka. While small fragments might have reached the ground, there was no danger posed to the region.
Alan Fitzsimmons of Queen’s University Belfast remarked that while objects of this size are harmless, their early detection is a testament to advancements in monitoring techniques.
According to New Scientist, he added, “It’s a small one, but it will still be quite spectacular,” describing the event as a win for science and an impressive display for onlookers in Siberia.
C0WEPC5 is the fourth asteroid this year to be classified as an “imminent impactor” before striking Earth. Such early detections are increasingly common due to improved observational capabilities. This event marks the 11th known imminent impactor since the first discovery in 2008.
The asteroid’s fiery descent occurred near the site of the infamous Tunguska Event in 1908, where a much larger asteroid caused a massive explosion, flattening 830 square miles of forest.
The Tunguska impact inspired the designation of June 30 as International Asteroid Day to raise awareness about asteroid monitoring efforts.
Both Nasa and ESA now operate extensive programmes to detect and track asteroids, collaborating with observatories and amateur astronomers worldwide.
According to New Scientist, such detections could lead to advancements in deflecting larger objects or evacuating potential impact zones.
