MENA Newswire News Desk: A tiny asteroid, approximately 3 feet in diameter, is expected to collide with Earth today. However, scientists assure the public that the space rock will harmlessly burn up in the atmosphere as it enters over the western Pacific Ocean near Luzon Island in the Philippines. The European Space Agency (ESA) confirmed the event, which is set to occur around 12:46 p.m. ET (1646 GMT).
The asteroid, identified as 2024 RW1, was discovered this morning by Jacqueline Fazekas, a research technologist at the Catalina Sky Survey, a NASA-funded project dedicated to tracking near-Earth objects. This marks only the ninth time a near-Earth asteroid has been spotted before its impact. NASA’s Asteroid Watch website predicted that the impact might produce a fireball visible from the east coast of the Philippines.
However, meteorologists have cautioned that the nearby tropical storm Yagi, also known locally as Enteng, could hinder visibility, making ground observations difficult. Images released by the Catalina Sky Survey show the asteroid as a series of faint white dots circled against the backdrop of the night sky. The ESA also posted a map on X (formerly Twitter), showing the projected impact zone, which lies just off the northern coast of Luzon Island.
Planetary defense efforts to monitor and track asteroids like 2024 RW1 have become a priority for space agencies. In 2022, NASA made headlines when its DART mission deliberately collided with an asteroid in an attempt to alter its course. Other initiatives, such as NASA’s upcoming NEO Surveyor mission are in development to improve planetary defense capabilities. Asteroids like 2024 RW1 pose no immediate threat to Earth, as they are too small to cause damage upon entering the atmosphere. Scientists continue to monitor larger objects that could potentially pose risks in the future.