“Fiery Asteroid Lights Up Philippines Sky: Disintegrates Safely in a Dazzling Display”
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Asteroid that glowed like a ‘fireball’ over Philippines disintegrates safely
The asteroid, known as 2024 RW1, is the ninth asteroid spotted before it hits Earth’s atmosphere, the European Space Agency said.
A small asteroid on course to hit Earth safely disintegrated like a bright “fireball” in the atmosphere over the Philippines, the NASA space agency said.
The asteroid – about 1 metre (3 feet) wide – was spotted by astronomers in Arizona at about 16:46 GMT on Wednesday before it broke up over the western Pacific Ocean near Luzon island in the Philippines.
The European Space Agency (ESA) said the space rock, called 2024 RW1, is “the ninth rock observed by mankind before impact”, though asteroids of this size speed toward Earth about every two weeks without posing any threat.
NASA’s asteroid monitoring website had predicted the impact could produce a “fireball” visible from the east coast of the Philippines, prompting people to upload photos on social media.
NASA’s Planetary Defense Coordination Office reported that multiple sensors detected the asteroid’s safe impact.
The asteroid was expected to hit the atmosphere at a speed of 17.6 km (10.9 miles) per second, or 63,360 km (39,370 miles) per hour, New Scientist magazine reported. Professor Alan Fitzsimmons, an expert in the field of asteroid and comet science at Queen’s University Belfast in Northern Ireland, said the speed was average for such objects. “Don’t be fooled by Hollywood movies, where you see something coming screaming out of the sky and you have time to rush out of the house, pick up the cat, jump in the car and go somewhere.
You don’t have time to do that,” he told the magazine. According to the ESA, small asteroids like 2024 RW1 are rarely detected before they impact the planet. In space, some asteroids are much larger and can cause great destruction if they hit Earth. However, the number of asteroids estimated to hit our solar system is relatively low, and more than 90 percent of them are believed to have been identified. The ESA says none of these pose an impact threat.
Conclusion
In conclusion, the asteroid’s fiery entrance over the Philippines was a breathtaking celestial event that captured the awe of many. Despite its dramatic display, the object disintegrated safely, posing no threat to the Earth or its inhabitants. This extraordinary event serves as a reminder of the universe’s unpredictable beauty, highlighting the delicate balance between awe-inspiring phenomena and the protective atmosphere that shields our planet.