Asteroid detected 3 hours before it exploded over Berlin

Fireball in the sky of Berlin in the early morning of January 21

In the early morning of January 21 (local time), a small asteroid crashed into Earth, exploded and created a fireball above the sky of Berlin, according to Live Science on January 23.

The asteroid, named 2024 BXI, was first discovered by asteroid hunter Krisztián Sárneczky, an astronomer working at the Piszkéstető mountain observatory, part of the Konkoly Observatory in Hungary.

Sárneczky discovered the asteroid using the Schmidt telescope at the observatory. Shortly after Sárneczky announced his discovery, NASA released a detailed forecast of where and when the asteroid would hit Earth.

"Look up in the sky: A small asteroid will explode and turn into a harmless fireball west of Berlin, near Nennhausen shortly after 1:32 a.m. on January 21 (7:32 a.m. on February 21, Vietnam time). This event will be visible if the sky is clear," NASA announced on X (formerly Twitter name).

Astronomer Sárneczky has discovered hundreds of asteroids in recent years, and was the first to report the presence of asteroid 2022 EB5 about two hours before it entered Earth's atmosphere.

According to the European Space Agency, up to 99% of near-Earth asteroids under 30 meters in size have not yet been discovered. The smaller the asteroid, the shorter the time to detect it, hindering experts' efforts to warn.

Source link: https://thanhnien.vn/phat-hien-tieu-hanh-tinh-som-3-gio-truoc-khi-no-no-tung-tren-berlin-185240123090825504.htm