A Fridge-Sized Asteroid Collided with Earth on March 11th and We Don’t Even Know About It

It was predicted to strike above Jan Mayen, an island belonging to Norway.

Scout predicted that 2022 EB5 would strike Earth’s atmosphere above the Norwegian island of Jan Mayen, some 300 miles distant from Greenland, at approximately 5:23 p.m. EST, and that’s exactly what happened. Scientists used infrasound detectors to verify the impact point and confirm the correctness of Scout’s measurements. The asteroid’s size may be precisely measured thanks to these detectors.

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The asteroid burned up and shrunk to a small meteor when it hit earth.

Experts think that the asteroid burned up upon entering the earth’s atmosphere and turned into a spectacular meteor known as a fireball or shooting star in the sky. In light of its modest size, it is exceedingly unlikely the asteroid survived its journey. It most likely burned up completely in Earth’s atmosphere, as no meteorite remnants have been discovered until now.

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What makes small asteroids so difficult to identify?

At this point, you may be asking how frequently these kinds of situations occur. Director Paul Chodas of the CNEOS states, “Tiny asteroids like 2022 EB5 are numerous, and they impact into the atmosphere quite frequently — roughly every ten months or so.”

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But if small asteroid impacts occur frequently, then why was this one only the 5th to be spotted before it hit?

If asteroid impacts like these are common, then why is 2022 EB5 only the 5th asteroid to have been discovered in advance? When it comes to spotting small asteroids using a survey telescope, the chances of actually locating them are astronomically low! These objects have a very faint appearance in the night sky. However, they begin to glow a few hours before they hit Earth’s orbit. “The final light up” of this fridge-sized asteroid is what tipped Sárneczky off.

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