by A 1 meter meteoroid (small #Asteroid) has been spotted and is expected to *certainly* impact Earth’s atmosphere over northern France between 3:50 and 4:03 GMT.
In the area? Watch out for one #shootingstar!??#fireball#sar2667 https://t.co/ul0tAMmXBK
— ESA Operations (@esaoperations) February 12, 2023
Small asteroid for safe impact
A small asteroid, also called a meteoroid by some, is expected to impact Earth’s atmosphere somewhere over France and the English Channel tonight – the night of February 12-13, 2023. The tiny space rock is just a meter wide (about 3 feet across) and probably too small to survive intact as it makes the fiery journey through Earth’s protective atmosphere. But it’s expected to provide a good light show in the sky for observers in northern France, Britain, Belgium and the Netherlands.
Also, some parts of the asteroid could fall to Earth and be salvaged for further study.
The time of the impact is estimated at 3:50 to 4:03 GMT on February 13 (about 3 UTC on February 13 or about 21:00 on February 12 for central North America, which will be likely). not see the meteor), after the Operations of the European Space Agency.
? ?? Imminent asteroid entry into the atmosphere???
In a few hours, on February 13, ~02h 59min UT, a small, newly discovered asteroid with a diameter of 1m, Sar2667, is scheduled to enter Earth’s atmosphere over the English Channel. A bright fireball should be visible from North Fr., Belg., NLs and GB. pic.twitter.com/kT9c4Xc96Z– IMO Meteor Org. (@IMOmeteore) February 12, 2023
Great achievement! Spotted before hitting
Given the small size of this tiny object moving through space, it’s amazing that it could be spotted Before striking.
Krisztián Sárneczky of Hungary made the discovery of the object, which has been given the designation Sar2667, just hours before its predicted impact.
It is only the seventh asteroid discovered before the impact. The last, 2022 WJ1, took to the air over Canada on November 19, 2022.
In addition, this object will hit the Earth’s atmosphere nearly the 10th anniversary of the Chelyabinsk explosion over Russia. This object struck on February 15, 2013, triggering a shock wave that broke windows in several cities in Russia.
You can read more about Sar2667’s statistics at NASA’s Center for Near Earth Object Studies page.
There should be a nice bright meteor, also known as a fireball
Karl Antier of the International Meteor Organization wrote:
According to Peter Birtwhistle and Sam Deen, the asteroid should enter the atmosphere with an east-west direction and an inclination of 40-50° relative to the vertical over the English Channel. According to Bill J. Gray, the entrance area is around 4 km from the French coast, 45 km north-east of Le Havre.
So a nice fireball should be observable from northern France, Great Britain, Belgium and the Netherlands.
Please note that these values ​​are provisional. For such a small object, recently discovered, estimates of its size and exact path can be refined.
Asteroid impact information from Twitter
???Incoming! Almost in time for the 10th anniversary of the Chelyabinsk Meteor: The first sighted #imminentImpactor from 2023 via northern France (near Rouen): pic.twitter.com/RIpx2vGZku
— Richard Moissl (@Richard_M_F) February 12, 2023
?ATTENTION! A small asteroid is expected to safely impact the French-English channel tomorrow at 03:00:03 UT in about 4 hours. The object size is about 1 meter and should briefly appear as bright as the moon as it enters the atmosphere. Approximate visibility circle given below. 1/ pic.twitter.com/Ckh5OBsz4l
— Tom Williams (@tw__astro) February 12, 2023
Asteroid folks using telescopes where it’s night time, note:
New discovery #sar2667 with potential impact on Western Europe in just under 6 hours – https://t.co/mV4EyvFL3m .
— Michael Busch (@michael_w_busch) February 12, 2023
Conclusion: A small asteroid – about 1 meter (3 feet) wide – is sure to impact Earth’s atmosphere near northern France at 3 UTC on February 13, 2023. Some parts could reach Earth’s surface, but the main event will be a bright meteor (or fireball) visible in the sky over northern France, Britain, Belgium and the Netherlands.
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