Small asteroid burns up in Earth’s atmosphere
BY DR EMILY BALDWIN
ASTRONOMY NOW

Posted: October 07, 2008

According to predictions, three metre wide asteroid 2008TC3 exploded in the Earth’s atmosphere at 0246 UT above northern Sudan this morning.

Asteroid 2008TC3 was discovered on 6 October at around 0630 UT. The asteroid was at 19th magnitude and moving at a rate of 2.5 degrees per day. Image: R. Kowalski, E. Beshore, Catalina Sky Survey.

The asteroid was found on Monday morning by the Catalina Sky Survey’s observatory in Arizona and calculations by the Minor Planet Center suggested that the object would enter the Earth’s atmosphere less than a day later, creating a bright fireball. This fireball effect is created as the meteoroid (that is, a small asteroid) compresses the air in front of it, heating it up and causing it to glow, fragment and vapourise.

The burning meteroid was predicted to travel west to east across northern Sudan in Africa at around 12.8 kilometres per second, plunging through the atmosphere at an angle of 19 degrees from the horizontal. It is not thought that any fragments would survive the fury transit through the atmosphere.

"We estimate objects this size enter Earth's atmosphere once every few months," says Don Yeomans of the Near-Earth Object Office at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena. "The unique aspect of this event is that it is the first time we have observed an impacting object during its final approach."

The orbit of Asteroid 2008 TC3 was predicted to collide with that of the Earth at 0246 UT this morning. Image: Near Earth Object Program.

According to a report posted on spaceweather.com, KLM airliner crew flying in the area observed a short flash just before the predicted impact time.

The discovery of such an impactor so close to home is also a solemn reminder of how an asteroid impact could take the Earth by surprise without any considerable warning.

Our latest 132-page Astronomy Now special edition is an extravaganza of astronomy for the year ahead, with a complete 30-page guide to observing the planets, moon, meteor showers, two solar eclipses, and the deep sky in 2010.
 U.K. STORE
 E.U. STORE
 U.S. & WORLDWIDE STORE

Hubble Reborn
Hubble Reborn takes the reader on a journey through the Universe with spectacular full-colour pictures of galaxies, nebulae, planets and stars as seen through Hubble's eyes, along the way telling the dramatic story of the space telescope, including interviews with key scientists and astronauts.
 U.K. STORE
 E.U. STORE
 U.S. & WORLDWIDE STORE

3D Universe
Witness the most awesome sights of the Universe as they were meant to be seen in this 100-page extravaganza of planets, galaxies and star-scapes, all in 3D!
 U.K. STORE
 E.U. STORE
 U.S. & WORLDWIDE STORE

This special publication features the photography of British astro-imager Nik Szymanek and covers a range of photographic methods from basic to advanced. Beautiful pictures of the night sky can be obtained with a simple camera and tripod before tackling more difficult projects, such as guided astrophotography through the telescope and CCD imaging.
 U.K. STORE
 E.U. STORE
 U.S. & WORLDWIDE STORE

Explore the Universe with these new versions of the award-winning Starry Night Software. Available now from the Astronomy Now Store.
 U.K. STORE
 E.U. STORE
 U.S. & WORLDWIDE STORE

Astronomy Now is pleased to announce the publication of Exploring Mars. The very best images of Mars taken by orbiting spacecraft and NASA's Spirit and Opportunity rovers fill up the 98 glossy pages of this special edition!
 U.K. STORE
 E.U. STORE
 U.S. & WORLDWIDE STORE

This new poster features some of the best pictures from NASA's amazing Mars Exploration Rovers Spirit and Opportunity.
 U.K. STORE
 E.U. STORE
 U.S. & WORLDWIDE STORE