A small asteroid, what some are calling a meteoroid, struck Earth’s atmosphere in the early hours of Monday over northern France creating a stunning shooting star effect.
The 1m (3ft) meteoroid. which has been dubbed Sar2667 was seen shortly before 03:00 GMT on Monday morning.
The European Space Agency tweeted that it was “a sign of the rapid advancements in global asteroid detection capabilities!”
A person who says they witnessed the event wrote on Twitter that the asteroid “lit up the sky with a pink flash which was spectacular.”
Another said: “I just stood at my window and turned on my phone. I wasn’t expecting much but it really was amazing.”
Asteroid lights up sky as it comes down in France
The 1m (3ft) meteoroid – or small asteroid – was seen shortly before 3am GMT on Monday safely coming down in Rouen #Sar2667 #asteroid #BREAKING #UK #BreakingNews #France #Rouen #UFO pic.twitter.com/QaKwHDIDTy
— Jerry Hicks (@JerryHicksUnite) February 13, 2023
On Sunday night, a one-meter-long meteor lit up the sky in northern France before being spotted by people in southern England.
The Sar 2667 meteoroid, according to France Info, entered the Earth's atmosphere at around 4:00 and burned up over the English Channel. pic.twitter.com/EFulSkwnyZ
— Qazi Shibli (قاضی شبلی) (@QaziShibli) February 13, 2023
Meteoroid struck the earth’s atmosphere over Rouen, France
It is just the seventh time an asteroid impact has been predicted in advance. The last asteroid discovered just before striking Earth, 2022 WJ1, entered the air over Canada on November 19, 2022.
The agency earlier said the object was expected to “safely strike” the earth’s atmosphere near to the French city of Rouen.
The International Meteor Organization, a Belgium-based non-profit organisation, said the object would have entered about 4km (2.5 miles) from the French coast, and would create a “fireball” effect.
Asteroid Sar2667, about a meter in diameter, was expected to fall near the French city of Le Havre at 02:59h UTC. I drove to a photogenic spot close to home in the south of the Netherlands to capture it, just as the sky cleared.#asteroid #meteor @IMOmeteors @apod pic.twitter.com/MNZofhkrd7
— Gijs de Reijke (@GijsDeReijke) February 13, 2023
What’s more, this object struck Earth’s atmosphere at almost the 10-year anniversary of the Chelyabinsk explosion over Russia. That object struck on February 15, 2013, creating a shock wave that broke windows in several cities in Russia.
Asteroids are small rocky objects that orbit the sun, often described as minor planets.
A meteor is what happens when a small piece of an asteroid or comet, called a meteoroid, burns up upon entering Earth’s atmosphere.
Authorities are aware of more than 1.1 million asteroids, although the true number is believed to be much higher.
Around 30,600 travel in an orbit that brings them near Earth’s own, according to the European Space Agency.
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