The European space agency had spotted asteroid 2022 WJ1 hours before it entered Earth’s atmosphere and predicted its route. A feat.
It is only the 6th time in the history of humanity that such a feat has been accomplished: space agencies have spotted an asteroid one meter in diameter a few hours before its impact on Earth. WJ1 crashed on November 19, 2022 near Toronto, Canada, without causing any damage, ESA, the European space agency, announced on November 24.
The discovery of such a celestial body, especially of this size, is great news for Earth. ” Early detection and sightings of this asteroid illustrate our ever-growing ability to warn of even the smallest impacts. », welcomed the ESA.
The route of 2022 WJ1 has been calculated in advance
It was the Catalina Sky Survey observatory that first spotted the asteroid, four hours before impact, explains ESA on its site. Catalina was able to take a photo through her telescope, and then alerted the Minor Planet Center, the organization responsible for detecting asteroids, just 38 minutes after the asteroid first appeared on radar.
Catalina’s observations made it possible to make a first estimate of the location and time of impact, in North America and within the next 3 hours. Thirty minutes later, new, even more detailed calculations gave more details: the asteroid, less than a meter in diameter, was going to crash into an area between Lake Erie and Lake Ontario, near the Canada-United States border, at approximately 3:30 a.m. local time.
” Exactly on time, the asteroid re-entered the atmosphere, and became a glowing ball of fire in the sky, just above the announced location. “, rejoices the ESA in the press release. It must be said that this is no small feat: it is only the 6th time that humanity has managed to predict the impact of an asteroid – and the 2nd time this year. On March 11, 2022, Hungarian astronomer Krisztián Sárneczky discovered an asteroid less than a meter in diameter a few hours before impact, and predicted the place of impact, north of Iceland.