Siri, play ‘Fireball’ by Pitbull.
An asteroid recently entered Earth’s atmosphere, creating an incredible display as it lit up the sky.
According to NASA’s Asteroid Watch, the asteroid’s entry caused what they described as “a harmless fireball.”
Footage of the event has been shared widely on social media, showcasing the spectacular scene captured over the Russian republic of Sakha in northeastern Siberia on December 4.
NASA Asteroid Watch, part of the Planetary Defense Coordination Office responsible for detecting and tracking Near-Earth Objects (NEOs), took to Twitter to share details of the event.
They posted: “At 11:14am EST, a very small (<1m) #asteroid will impact Earth’s atmosphere and create a harmless fireball over eastern Russia’s Olyokminsky District.”
“The asteroid was first observed with the University of Arizona’s Bok telescope by the @NASA funded Catalina Sky Survey and Spacewatch. The impact prediction was made by the Scout system at @NASAJPL’s Center for Near-Earth Object Studies (CNEOS).”
And sure enough, videos soon surfaced online, capturing the moment the asteroid hit Earth’s atmosphere, creating a dazzling spectacle.
It produced a ‘harmless fireball’
Telegram
Several videos posted on Telegram and later shared on Twitter show a glowing light streaking across the sky before gradually fading into a sparkling glimmer.
The European Space Agency (ESA) confirmed that the asteroid measured about 70 centimeters in diameter and produced what they described as “a nice fireball in the sky over northern Siberia.”
The Sakha emergencies ministry was reportedly on alert for the asteroid, though the ESA assured the public that the impact was harmless. They also noted: “Thanks to observations from astronomers around the world, our alert system was able to predict this impact to within +/- 10 seconds.”
Social media quickly lit up with reactions to the event.
One Twitter user remarked: “Amazing they could pick up, track and predict something so small really.”
Another chimed in with: “70 centimeters?!? That’s not an asteroid. That’s an asterette.”
A third user simply wrote: “Woow.”
While a fourth added: “Cool.”