Produced by: Tarun Mishra Designed by: Manoj Kumar
On October 22, an asteroid roughly three feet in diameter was detected just hours before it impacted Earth. Initially named A11dc6D, it was later officially classified as 2024 UQ by astronomers following the event.
The asteroid entered Earth’s atmosphere above the Pacific Ocean, far from populated areas, resulting in no public sightings. Observatories tracked its entry, which created a bright fireball over 1,000 km off the coast of California.
The Asteroid Terrestrial-impact Last Alert System (ATLAS) survey monitored the space rock’s approach and impact. NASA’s Center for Near Earth Object Studies (CNEOS) later confirmed the fireball, which lit up the sky at 3:54 a.m. PT.
Peter Brown, a meteor scientist from Western University, Canada, noted that this is the 10th instance of an asteroid impact being successfully predicted ahead of time. Advancements in surveys like ATLAS, Catalina, and Pan-STARRS have improved early detections.
A similar event occurred on September 5, when a three-foot asteroid, named 2024 RW1, was observed just hours before it entered the atmosphere above the Philippines, creating a visible green fireball. That asteroid was identified by Jacqueline Fazekas of the NASA-funded Catalina Sky Survey.
In August, a meteorite fell in South Africa, the first in over 50 years, producing a sonic boom and tremors felt across the area. Parts of the meteorite landed in the ocean, marking South Africa’s first recorded meteorite fall since 1973.
The frequency of such asteroid detections close to impact is rising due to improved technology, allowing scientists to observe these events and mitigate potential risks more effectively.