by Asteroid 2023 CX1 entering Earth’s atmosphere, captured in the sky over the southern Netherlands. Photo credit: Gijs de Reijke
Seventh shooting star ever sighted before impact
For the seventh time, a small asteroid — a meteoroid, as astronomers call it — has been spotted in space as it races toward Earth to impact. The predicted time and place of impact (02:50 – 03:03
Upon impact, the beautiful fireball lit the sky within the expected time window (at 02:59 UTC) and location. Observations came mainly from southern Britain and France, but also from Belgium, the Netherlands and even Germany. It’s likely that some fragments of the meteorite survived its atmospheric journey and may have landed somewhere near the coast north of Rouen in Normandy, France. Photo credit: Muhammed Uzzal
What happened?
On February 12, 2023 at 20:18:07 UTC, the new asteroid (now officially named 2023 CX1 but originally named Sar2667 by its discoverer) was photographed by the Piszkésteto Observatory. As soon as a second observation was made, it was reported to the Minor Planet Center at 20:49 UTC.
About 40 minutes later, follow-up observations from Višnjan Observatory in Croatia confirmed the object. At that time, various impact assessment systems around the world calculated a 100% impact probability expected between 02:00 and 04:00 UTC over the English Channel. The asteroid was estimated to be about a meter in diameter and posed no danger to people or property.
First impact assessment by the ESA tool Meerkat, reported at 21:33 UTC with only 7 measurements already showing a ~100% impact probability. Credit: ESA/PDO
Over the next seven hours, astronomers around the world observed the Earth-based object and determined its “impact corridor” over the English Channel with a west-to-east trajectory. The object was observed for up to ten minutes before impact, just five minutes before it fell into Earth’s shadow and became “invisible.”
Upon impact, the beautiful fireball lit the sky within the expected time window (at 02:59 UTC) and location. Observations came mainly from southern Britain and France, but also from Belgium, the Netherlands and even Germany. It’s likely that some fragments of the meteorite survived its atmospheric journey and may have landed somewhere near the coast north of Rouen in Normandy, France.
The first impact corridor reported by the ESA tool Meerkat was reported at 21:33 UTC, with the actual impact time at 02:59 UTC in the middle of the uncertainty window. Credit: ESA/PDO
ESA’s Planetary Defense Office team contributed to this historic event, both by providing timely notifications from the ‘Meerkat’ warning system and by utilizing a network of optical telescopes set up specifically for these occasions.
As we become more and more able to predict these small, stunning shooting stars in our skies, more people can be in the right place at the right time to witness a phenomenon few have previously had the good fortune to spot.
Of course, one day we will find an imminent impactor not a meter tall but maybe 100. To protect us, as NASA’s DART mission has shown it’s possible and ESA’s Hera mission builds on that , we must see her coming.
