Last month, the Earth’s atmosphere was bombarded by a small, boulder-sized asteroid just hours after it had first been detected, having evaded early impact monitoring systems. The object, designated 2024 UQ, was discovered just two hours before entering Earth’s atmosphere, and fortunately, there was no real threat, since it measured only 3 feet (1 meter) in diameter.
The Asteroid Terrestrial-impact Last Alert System, a four-telescope survey based in Hawaii for monitoring near-Earth objects, had discovered the asteroid on October 22. Within days of its detection, 2024 UQ disintegrated in the atmosphere over the Pacific Ocean, off California, creating an “imminent impactor,” or an impact where Earth-bound objects are detected hours before hitting the planet.
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“ATLAS survey obtained images that included detections of a small object in a high-probability collision course. However, due to the location of the object near the edge of two adjacent fields, the candidate was recognized as a moving object only a few hours later,” ESA wrote in the newsletter.“By the time the astrometry reached the impact monitoring systems, the impact had already happened.”
According to ESA, the asteroid was the third imminent impactor detected this year.
That close call serves to highlight both the strengths and weaknesses of the modern track system and sets an argument for continuing investment in early detection technology. While harmless in this circumstance, the situation serves to bring focus to Earth’s continued improvement efforts in regards to space surveillance-the possibility of potentially dangerous space rocks slipping undetected.