It’s only the eighth time an asteroid hitting the atmosphere has been successfully predicted, but this one was over a much more populated area.
The hunt is on to find meteorites from an object that hit
the Earth’s atmosphere 100 kilometers (62 miles) west of Berlin over the
weekend. Although bits of rock would be most prized, scientists are also keen
to collect as many photographs of the descent of the meteor 2024BX1 as
possible.
Central Europeans awake at the right time were given warning
of the arrival of a 1-meter (3-foot) wide asteroid in the early hours of Sunday
morning. This probably represents the most populated area for an anticipated
impact by a space rock yet, although the timing meant only night owls saw it.
Until recently, meteors came entirely out of the blue (or
the black, depending on the time of day/night). However, increasing
observations of the skies mean we sometimes spot small asteroids shortly before
they hit the atmosphere, creating the opportunity to issue alerts. One such
case achieved meme-worthy status when the incoming object was described as
being the size of half a giraffe.
However, that space rock went down off the coast of Iceland,
leaving no chance of finding debris and a very small pool of potential
observers. It’s inevitable that with most of the planet covered by oceans and
much of the rest barely populated desert even when we predict an object’s
arrival few will get to witness it.
A subsequent smaller
asteroid burned up over the English Channel last year, ensuring no one was
directly beneath it, but thrilling photographers from the heavily populated
coasts.
The 2024BX1 meteor was seen from eastern Germany, Poland,
and Czechia. Had it been a few hours earlier it might have been seen by
millions. Instead, it arrived at 1:32 am local time – not the best time to
attract crowds, particularly with overnight temperatures well below zero.
Nevertheless, some people were onto it.
Thanks to my wonderful colleague @allplanets I knew where and when to look for a #meteor coming down over #Berlin tonight. Here's the video! pic.twitter.com/kBhGz6Ahir
— Michael Aye (@michaelaye@mastodon.online) 🇩🇪🇺🇦 (@michaelaye) January 21, 2024
Like last year’s event, the prediction came from prolific
minor planet hunter Krisztián Sárneczky, who noticed the flicker in his images.
The discovery images of the imminent impactor #2024BX1 (aka #Sar2736 ) with the 60-cm Schmidt Telescope at #Piszkéstető Mountain Station, part of Konkoly Observatory (#konkolyobs) in #Hungary. pic.twitter.com/qMcXerhvL4
— Krisztián Sárneczky (@sarneczky) January 21, 2024
Sárneczky’s alert, shared to a wider audience by the
International Meteor Organization and NASA Asteroid Watch gave a 95-minute warning for those who were awake and online. The IMO even provided anyone too
far away to view the event themselves with links to webcams, some of which
turned out to be pointed appropriately.
Research into these events always benefits from more data,
and anyone who saw, or better still recorded, the meteor, is invited to report
it here.
Space rocks usually need to be bigger than this for pieces
to survive the atmosphere and reach the ground. However, there has been
speculation online that the steep angle of entry and low velocity relative to
Earth might have enabled pieces to survive. If so, hunters probably have until
the next snowfall to maximize their chances.
If any pieces are found, it would be the second fresh
asteroid discovery of the year. On December 29, almost a hundred people across
four American states reported seeing a fireball. Their assistance, along with
CCTV recordings and the AllSky7 video network allowed meteorite hunters to
pinpoint the location near the California/Arizona border. On New Year’s Day,
three fragments weighing 450 grams (16 ounces) were collected from the Arizona
desert.