A small asteroid less than 70 centimeters wide careened toward Earth before burning up above northern Siberia in Russia on Tuesday night, creating a blazing fireball in the sky witnessed across the region. The European Space Agency had issued an alert about the asteroid earlier in the day, calling it an “imminent impactor,” though it was projected to be harmless. Residents in Yakutia witnessed the fireball as the asteroid broke up in the sky.
Another asteroid, known as 2020 XR, was expected to fly by Earth on Wednesday, estimated to be the size of a football stadium. Despite its size, it was projected to pass by safely at a distance of 1.37 million miles. The Jet Propulsion Laboratory tracks asteroids and comets that come close to Earth, considering any object larger than 150 meters potentially hazardous.
NASA and other space agencies have been taking steps to protect Earth from asteroid threats, including the Double Asteroid Redirection Test in September 2022, which demonstrated the ability to nudge an asteroid out of harm’s way. The agency has also hosted exercises involving international government representatives to prepare for potential asteroid impacts. NASA is currently working on the NEO Surveyor telescope, set to launch in 2028, to discover 90% of asteroids and comets that could pose a threat to Earth.
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