Sky watchers in the Philippines got an eyeful of a rare astronomic and atmospheric event on September 5 when an asteroid streaked across the sky and ended in a green fireball that could be seen for hundreds of miles.
While that’s special enough, there’s a twist. The asteroid, designated by scientists as 2024 RW1, had only been discovered earlier the same day it burned up in the Earth’s atmosphere. Astronomers from the Catalina Sky Survey discovered the rock, which was only 3-feet wide, but that’s enough to cause a spectacular light show as the rock sped through the air fast enough to heat to the point of explosion from friction with the atmosphere. The CSS is a NASA project at the Steward Observatory at the University of Arizona; the group watches the sky for any comets, meteors, or asteroids that may pose a danger to the planet.
The European Space Agency’s prediction about 2024 RW1 turned out to be right on the money. The ESA said the asteroid would be “harmless,” and that it would fracture and then burn up in the air, giving a “spectacular fireball” to witness for people on the ground.
The flying rock broke apart at 12:46 p.m. Philippines local time near Luzon Island. The bright green color the rock gave off was likely due to it having a very high magnesium content. The final stage of the show was an incredibly bright flash signaling the final explosion.
Asteroids like this one are more common than most people would imagine; astronomers say they enter the planet’s atmosphere about twice a month. But the Earth is big, and most asteroids burn up without anyone noticing them. That’s what makes this recent asteroid “funeral” special, it is only the ninth recorded time that astronomers have seen such an asteroid before it entered the atmosphere.
The last such sighting took place in January of 2021. Scientists for NASA spotted an asteroid about the size of this one, which they named 2024 BX1. That asteroid drew attention for being the fastest-spinning falling rock ever recorded.
The crew at the International Space Station observed a similar bright green exploding asteroid from their perch in Earth orbit this week, too.
