An asteroid measuring roughly one metre in diameter impacted Earth’s ambiance on October 22, 2024, solely hours after its preliminary detection. Found by the Asteroid Terrestrial-impact Final Alert System (ATLAS) in Hawaii, the item — named 2024 UQ — approached the planet undetected by world impression monitoring techniques earlier than disintegrating over the Pacific Ocean off California’s coast. The European Area Company’s (ESA) Close to-Earth Object Coordination Centre later confirmed the occasion in its November e-newsletter, reporting that monitoring knowledge for the asteroid didn’t attain monitoring techniques till after the impression had already taken place.
Restricted Monitoring Knowledge As a consequence of Detection Timing
Based on ESA’s November e-newsletter, 2024 UQ had been picked up by ATLAS’ sky-monitoring telescopes. Nevertheless, the asteroid was solely recognized as a shifting object minutes earlier than it entered Earth’s ambiance as a consequence of its location between two adjoining sky fields within the survey system. This detection delay meant that important monitoring knowledge was delayed and unavailable for impression monitoring centres, which observe potential near-Earth object (NEO) threats. Affirmation of the asteroid’s impression was made potential by knowledge from the Nationwide Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s (NOAA) GOES climate satellites and NASA’s Catalina Sky Survey, which recorded flashes that confirmed the entry of 2024 UQ.
Third Imminent Influence Occasion in 2024
This incident marked the third imminent impactor occasion in 2024. In January, an identical object designated as 2024 BX1 burned up over Berlin, whereas one other asteroid, 2024 RW1, exploded above the Philippines in September, with footage of the fireball captured by native observers. These cases underscore the rarity but rising frequency of small asteroids getting into Earth’s ambiance undetected.
International Efforts to Monitor Close to-Earth Objects
Planetary defence stays a precedence as area companies worldwide develop techniques to trace probably hazardous objects. Along with initiatives like ATLAS and the Catalina Sky Survey, NASA’s upcoming NEO Surveyor mission goals to make use of infrared know-how to reinforce detection capabilities. ESA’s NEO Coordination Centre continues its work on monitoring near-Earth objects, whereas deflection experiments, together with NASA’s DART mission in 2022, are additionally underway to check potential asteroid redirection methods.