Tiny, Innocuous Asteroid Disintegrates in Earth’s Atmosphere Above Philippines

According to NASA, a small asteroid that was discovered on Wednesday safely disintegrated in Earth’s atmosphere on the same day.

This asteroid, measuring about 3 feet across (1 meter), was spotted by astronomers in Arizona and fragmented over the coast of the Philippines shortly after its discovery.

Named 2024 RW1, this space rock is only the ninth asteroid to have been identified before its impact. Asteroids of similar size approach Earth about every two weeks without causing any threat.

The discovery of the asteroid was made through the Catalina Sky Survey, which is operated by the University of Arizona and supported by NASA.

By Adithi Ramakrishnan