A small asteroid was visible over northern Siberia on Tuesday as it approached Earth on a collision course. This is the first of two asteroid fly-bys expected this week. The space rock entered Earth's atmosphere at 11:15 a.m. ET over Yakutia in northeastern Siberia, producing a massive fireball witnessed by locals, according to officials. Videos shared on social media show the bright, fast-moving fireball streaking across the sky before dissipating. It remains unclear if any debris from the asteroid reached the ground.
Asteroid fly-bys are common and astronomers' ability to detect them has significantly improved thanks to advancements in technology. Since October 2023, NASA reports that 132 known asteroids have passed closer to Earth than the moon. Overall, the agency has recorded more than 36,000 asteroid fly-bys.
Adding to this week’s celestial activity, another asteroid, designated 2020 XR, is set to pass by Earth today at around 8:27 a.m. according to NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL). This asteroid is significantly larger but poses no risk of impact. Measuring approximately 1,200 feet in diameter, comparable to the height of New York City’s Empire State Building and it is roughly the size of a football stadium in width.
2020 XR will pass at a safe distance of 2.2 million kilometers from Earth, traveling at a speed of about 44,300 kilometers per hour. This event marks the asteroid's closest recorded approach to our planet.
Skywatchers can observe the asteroid via a livestream from the Virtual Telescope Project (VTP), which began on December 3 at 9:30 p.m. The European Space Agency (ESA) has also noted that the asteroid will be visible through telescopes with apertures of at least 20 centimeters