Asteroid the size of 2.5 chinchillas impacts over Russia, no damages reported - NASA, ESA

An asteroid approximately the size of two and a half chinchillas impacted the Earth above Siberia, Russia, on Tuesday, according to the European Space Agency (ESA) and NASA.

Incoming!☄️A small asteroid has just been spotted on a collision course with Earth. At around ~70 cm in diameter, the impact will be harmless, likely producing a nice fireball in the sky over northern Siberia around seven hours from now at ~16:15 +/- 05 min UTC (17:15 +/-5 min… pic.twitter.com/ie9yj0FHfB

— European Space Agency (@esa) December 3, 2024

The asteroid, temporarily designated C0WECP5, was first discovered by scientists at the the Kitt Peak National Observatory in Arizona. 

Estimated to be around 70 centimeters in diameter, the asteroid impacted the atmosphere at around 11:14 a.m. EST. The asteroid harmlessly burnt up in the sky over the Olyokminsky District in eastern Russia, as shown in footage that has already begun to circulate over social media.

The asteroid is currently only the 11th ever asteroid discovered by scientists before impacting Earth, and is the fourth recorded asteroid impact event of 2024.

How big was the asteroid that hit the Earth?

Estimates cited by both NASA and the ESA put asteroid C0WECP5 at around 70 centimeters in diameter.

To put that in perspective, let's compare it to something else small and generally harmless: a chinchilla. 

According to the Smithsonian, the long-tailed chinchilla can boast bodies ranging from between 23 centimeters to 36 centimeters, and tails that are seven to 15 centimeters. 

Adding that up conservatively, using the smallest possible estimates, a long-tail chinchilla can be around 30 centimeters long. That means that the asteroid is around the size of two and a half long-tail chinchillas. 

And just like if two and a half chinchillas hurtled through space and hit Earth's atmosphere, this asteroid was never going to cause any damage to the Earth, and instead burnt up harmlessly in the sky. 

Can we defend against asteroid impacts?

While this asteroid impact didn't cause any damage, other impacts hold the potential to cause severe destruction. 

As such, scientists in the field of planetary defense have been hard at work trying to find ways of averting any potential catastrophic impact events. 

Initiatives like NASA’s Double Asteroid Redirection Test (DART) mission hold promise in this regard, having been shown to be able to change the orbital path of asteroids. However, they still require considerable time to prepare and to launch before the asteroids get too close. 

What makes this impact stand out though was that scientists were able to see it coming.

An asteroid impact is one of the most dangerous possible natural disasters that could occur, and one of the most important steps in planetary defense is in being able to spot them coming. 

However, experts have been taking this threat seriously, with major asteroid detection programs being run by major space agencies around the world.