Asteroid on 'collision course' with Earth burns up above far northeastern Russia
A small asteroid sped toward Earth before it burned out above far northeastern Russia on Tuesday night, sparking a natural light show for residents in the remote corner of the planet, officials said.
A small asteroid sped toward Earth before it burned out above far northeastern Russia on Tuesday night, sparking a natural light show for residents in the remote corner of the planet, officials said.
The flying space rock, which was less than 70 centimeters (27.5 inches) wide, had "been spotted on a collision course" with Earth, the European Space Agency said earlier Tuesday, predicting that the impact would be "harmless."
A "nice fireball in the sky over northern Siberia" was reportedly spotted at 5:15 p.m. CET (11:15 a.m. ET) by residents in the Russian republic of Yakutia, the space agency said.
An asteroid lights up the sky over the Russian republic of Yakutia early Wednesday.Sakha Republic Ministry of Internal Affairs via ReutersNASA called the event a "harmless fireball" and credited the University of Arizona’s Bok telescope for having first spotted its approach.
There were no immediate reports of damage or injuries from the asteroid, which was dubbed C0WEPC5.
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