On Wednesday, a small asteroid made headlines as it entered Earth’s atmosphere and disintegrated in a brilliant fireball over the northernmost island of the Philippine archipelago. The asteroid, known as 2024 RW1, hit the atmosphere at a staggering speed of 17.6 kilometers per second (63,360 kilometers per hour) around 12:46 pm ET (1646 GMT). The event was described as a “spectacular fireball” that lit up the sky.
Details of the Asteroid
The 3-foot asteroid was first discovered by research technologist Jacqueline Fazekas of the Catalina Sky Survey, a NASA-funded observatory near Tucson, Arizona. Prior to the impact, the European Space Agency had assured the public that the asteroid posed no threat, noting that “the object is harmless, but people in the area may see a spectacular fireball.”
Alan Fitzsimmons from Queen’s University Belfast emphasized the rarity of such events, saying, “Don’t be fooled by Hollywood movies where you can see the thing coming screaming through the sky and you’ve got time to run out the house, get the cat, jump in the car and drive somewhere. You don’t have the time to do that.”
Public Reaction and Social Media Buzz
After the asteroid disintegrated, social media was abuzz with photos and videos of the fireball. One X (formerly Twitter) user shared a video of the event, writing, “𝗪𝗘𝗟𝗖𝗢𝗠𝗘 𝗧𝗢 𝗘𝗔𝗥𝗧𝗛, 𝗔𝗦𝗧𝗘𝗥𝗢𝗜𝗗 𝟮𝟬𝟮𝟰 𝗥𝗪𝟭! Here’s a clear shot of the much-awaited small asteroid 2024 RW1 (#CAQTDL2) burning bright into a greenish ‘fireball’ over Lal-lo, Cagayan around 12:39 AM PhST, 05 September 2024. Did you see it too?”
𝗪𝗘𝗟𝗖𝗢𝗠𝗘 𝗧𝗢 𝗘𝗔𝗥𝗧𝗛, 𝗔𝗦𝗧𝗘𝗥𝗢𝗜𝗗 𝟮𝟬𝟮𝟰 𝗥𝗪𝟭! ☄️
Here’s a clear shot of the much-awaited small asteroid 2024 RW1 (#CAQTDL2) burning bright into a greenish ‘fireball’ over Lal-lo, Cagayan around 12:39 AM PhST, 05 September 2024. Did you see it too? 😊
— ScienceKonek (@sciencekonek) September 4, 2024
The asteroid’s fiery journey through the sky has captivated onlookers and serves as a reminder of the dynamic and often dramatic interactions between Earth and celestial objects.
