Asteroid nearly hits Earth in Siberia, with a 2nd massive asteroid passing this week
A small asteroid was visible in northern Siberia on Tuesday, as it closed in on its collision course with Earth.
It's the first of two expected asteroid fly-bys this week.
The European Space Agency issued an alert for the 27-inch asteroid at 4:27 a.m. ET, with the agency saying the celestial rock would create a visible fireball in the sky but that "the impact will be harmless."
The asteroid, temporarily named C0WEPC5, has become Earth's fourth detected asteroid strike of the year and just the 11th of all time.
Detected strikes are known as "imminent impactors," according to the Kitt Peak National Observatory in Arizona, which identified the fast-moving asteroid ahead of its arrival.
The space rock entered Earth's atmosphere at 11:15 a.m. ET over Yakutia in northeastern Siberia, creating a massive fireball witnessed by people in the region, according to the agency.
Video posted to social media on Tuesday shows the bright, fast-moving fireball darting through the sky before dissipating.
It's currently unknown how much, if any, of the asteroid debris landed on Earth.
Fly-by asteroids are common, and astronomers' ability to detect them has rapidly increased with technological advancements.
According to NASA, 132 known asteroids have passed closer to Earth than the moon is since October 2023.
Overall, there have been upward of 36,000 asteroid fly-bys, the agency reported.
Adding to the solar system show this week, another asteroid, known as 2020 XR, will fly by Earth at 12:27 a.m. ET on Wednesday, according to NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory.
Significantly larger but much farther away from impact than Tuesday's asteroid, 2020 XR is approximately 1,200 feet in diameter -- roughly the same as the height of New York City's Empire State Building -- but will pass Earth at a comfortable distance of 1.37 million miles, according to NASA.
While the massive asteroid will unlikely have any impact, and is not considered a threat by officials, NASA designates any object that comes within 4.6 million miles of Earth as "potentially hazardous."
