An asteroid the size of a bicycle tire disintegrated upon contact with Earth’s atmosphere

It was around 5.00 pm, Italian time, yesterday when a asteroid 70 cm in diameter came into contact with the Earth’s atmosphere. The impact, which occurred over the remote Russian region of Yakutiacreated an explosion of light that illuminated the night sky, transforming it into a breathtaking spectacle. Residents of the Olekminsk and Lensk areas stood with their noses in the air, fascinated by what looked like the tail of a comet, followed by a brilliant flash. Thankfully, the event caused no damage on the ground.

The asteroid, spotted about 12 hours before its entry into the atmosphere, has been precisely monitored by scientists around the world. The European Space Agency (ESA), in a post on X (formerly known as Twitter), said that the celestial object was identified thanks to the collaboration of international astronomers. At 1:15 local time (16:15 GMT), the impact occurred, as expected, in the skies above the Olyokminsky district:

Thanks to joint efforts, we were able to predict the exact moment of impact with a margin of just 10 seconds.

Alan Fitzsimmonsan astronomer at Queen’s University in Belfast, had anticipated that the passage of the asteroid would be “visible for hundreds of kilometers” and that it was a rare, but absolutely harmless event.

An open-air laboratory for science

There NASAfor his part, underlined the contribution of the University of Arizona and its Bok telescope in the discovery of the asteroid. The agency specified that the phenomenon, although spectacular, would not have had any negative impact on Earth. The meteor instead provided an opportunity to test and improve monitoring systems for objects near our planet.

This event highlights how crucial the study of Near Earth Objects (NEOs), i.e. celestial objects that orbit close to the Earth, is. While not representing a real threat, such episodes remind us of the importance of prevention and scientific research to ensure the safety of our planet.

As the Yakutia sky lit up with light, the scientific community showed the power of collaboration and technology in monitoring such evocative natural phenomena. Episodes like this, in addition to enchanting us, invite us to reflect on the beauty and fragility of our planet.