Asteroid Strikes Near California Moments After Discovery

On October 22, an asteroid struck Earth just hours after its discovery—the third instance of a space rock being detected shortly before impact this year. Initially dubbed A11dc6D, the asteroid, roughly three feet in diameter, was later officially named 2024 UQ. It entered Earth’s atmosphere over the Pacific Ocean, preventing any public sightings.

After briefly monitoring the object, the ATLAS survey confirmed that the asteroid entered the atmosphere safely, causing no damage. It created a bright fireball about 1,000 kilometers off the California coast, recorded by NASA’s Center for Near Earth Object Studies (CNEOS), which reported that it lit up the sky at 3:54 a.m. PT on October 22, 2024.

A similar event occurred last month when another small asteroid exploded over the Philippines on September 5, 2024, releasing slightly more energy than this latest incident. Peter Brown, a meteor scientist at Western University, noted on X that this impact marks the 10th time an asteroid collision was accurately forecast, crediting survey programs like ATLAS, Catalina, and Pan-STARRS for their increased detection capabilities.

The asteroid over the Philippines, also about three feet long, was labeled 2024 RW1. It was identified by research technologist Jacqueline Fazekas using the Catalina Sky Survey near Tucson, Arizona. Many residents witnessed the green fireball as it burst into the atmosphere.

In August, South Africa also witnessed a meteorite fall, its first in nearly 51 years. The impact caused a loud sonic boom, tremors, and scattered fragments that even fell into the ocean. South Africa has recorded a total of 51 meteorites to date, with only 22 known falls, the previous one occurring in Lichtenburg in 1973.