A small asteroid, around 3 feet in diameter, entered Earth’s atmosphere and burned up over the Philippines near Luzon Island early Wednesday afternoon, CNN reports, citing NASA and The European Space Agency (ESA)
ESA estimated the impact occurred at 12:39 p.m. ET (4:39 p.m. UTC).
The asteroid, initially designated CAQTDL2 and now named 2024 RW1, was discovered this morning by the Catalina Sky Survey. While asteroids of this size are estimated to strike Earth roughly every two weeks, they are rarely spotted before impact.
“This is just the ninth asteroid that humankind has ever spotted before impact,” ESA tweeted.
Despite its close encounter, the asteroid posed no threat as it was small enough to burn up completely upon entering Earth’s atmosphere. Sky-gazers in the area captured the spectacular fireball on social media, sharing videos of the bright streak across the sky.
