Asteroid enters Earth's atmosphere and burns up over Philippines (Image: X)

A small asteroid made a dramatic entrance into Earth’s atmosphere on Wednesday, 5 September 2024, and disintegrated harmlessly over the northern Philippines. The 3-foot space rock, identified as 2024 RW1, blazed through the sky at an astonishing 17.6 kilometres per second (63,360 kilometres per hour), creating a stunning fireball that captured the attention of those below.

Spectacular Show in the Sky

The asteroid entered the atmosphere around 12:46 pm ET (1646 GMT) and was seen lighting up the sky with its fiery display. The European Space Agency had alerted the public via X (formerly Twitter) prior to the event, noting that while the asteroid posed no threat, viewers might be treated to a spectacular sight. Research technologist Jacqueline Fazekas of the Catalina Sky Survey, a NASA-funded observatory in Tucson, Arizona, first detected the asteroid.

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, ! Here's a clear shot of the much-awaited small asteroid 2024 RW1 (#CAQTDL2) burning bright into a greenish 'fireball' over Lal-lo, Cagayan around 12:39 AM PhST, 05 September 2024. Did you see it too? pic.twitter.com/B3oAm6nNdD

ScienceKonek (@sciencekonek) September 4, 2024

Social Media Erupts with Fireball Photos

Soon after the fireball’s appearance, social media buzzed with images and videos of the celestial event. One X user shared a video of the asteroid’s bright, greenish fireball, commenting, “