A small asteroid streaked toward Earth on Tuesday night, burning up in the atmosphere above far northeastern Russia and creating a dazzling light show for residents in the remote region, officials reported.
The asteroid, measuring less than 70 centimetres (27.5 inches) in diameter, was identified earlier in the day on a "collision course" with Earth, according to the European Space Agency (ESA). However, the impact was deemed "harmless."
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At 5:15 p.m. CET (11:15 a.m. ET), a "beautiful fireball" lit up the skies over northern Siberia, as observed by residents in the Russian republic of Yakutia, the ESA confirmed.
NASA described the event as a "harmless fireball" and credited the University of Arizona's Bok telescope for first detecting the asteroid's approach. The space rock, designated as C0WEPC5, caused no reported damage or injuries.
"Asteroid #C0WEPC5 (temporary designation) entered Earth's atmosphere at 16:15 UTC/17:15 CET, creating a fireball over Yakutia witnessed by people in the region. The object was discovered roughly 12 hours ago and is thought to have been around 70 cm across. Thanks to observations from astronomers around the world, our alert system was able to predict this impact to within +/- 10 seconds," the ESA wrote on X.
