The 7-second night-sky glow was likely an asteroid fragment entering the atmosphere, according to the German Aerospace Center. Some 90 witnesses across the country notified sightings to Europe's "fireball network."
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A mysterious fireball was sighted streaking through the night sky over western Germany over the weekend, astronomers said Sunday.
The bright streak lasted 5-to-7 seconds, ending in a jade color and breaking into two smaller blips, a witness at Siegen near Bonn told the "fireball network" run by Berlin's Technical University (TU) and the German Aerospace Center (DLR).
And here's another article:
Burj Khalifa sized asteroid to zoom past Earth on Sunday, here's all you need to know
NASA has confirmed that a massive asteroid , named (153201) 2000 WO107, will barrel past Earth on Sunday. The asteroid is over 800 metres in height and over 500 metres in diameter, making it much larger than the UAE skyscraper Burj Khalifa.
Burj Khalifa is the world’s tallest building with a height of 829.8 metre and asteroid 2000 WO107, which was discovered in 2000, has a diameter is 820 metre.
According to the space agency, the asteroid will zoom past the Earth from a safe distance after being at its closest at around 10.38 am IST on November 29.
Asteroid to swing by Earth tomorrow as NASA gears up for 'near' approach | Science |
As such, 2020 WC4 will be just 1.8 LDs from Earth on Saturday, before it continues on its voyage around the Sun.
According to observations, the asteroid is travelling at an impressive speed of 5.2 kilometres per second. That is the equivalent of almost 19,000 kilometres per hour.
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At that size, even if it were to hit Earth, it would simply burn up in the atmosphere of the planet, appearing as if it were a shooting star.
Space news: Asteroid 2000 WO107 set for close call with Earth | 7NEWS.com.au
Asteroid 2000 WO107 is as tall as the world's tallest building - the 830m-high Burj Khalifa of Dubai - and is expected to pass our planet on Sunday 29 November around 9.09pm (AEDT).
Scientists have been tracking the monster space rock since it was discovered in 2000 by astronomers in New Mexico.
An astronomical unit is measured as the distance between the Earth and the sun - which is close to 150,000,000km.
The close proximity of the asteroid's trajectory also means that it is being classed as a "potentially hazardous asteroid" by authorities.
Many things are taking place:
Asteroid has 'EXTREMELY CLOSE' approach with Earth | Science | News | Express.co.uk
The asteroid known as 2020 VP1 has been voyaging through the solar system, coming close to Earth in the process. On 11 November, the asteroid came within just half the distance of the Earth and the Moon, allowing astronomers to photograph it.
Experts at the Virtual Telescope Project snapped an image of the passing space rock as it shot by our planet.
At 18 metres wide and being more than 180,000 kilometres away, the Virtual Telescope carried out an impressive feat to photograph the small asteroid from such a distance.
Earth's nearest miss on record as small asteroid zips by closer than ISS
The asteroid, dubbed 2020 VT4, made its closest approach at 17:20 UTC on Friday, November 13. But it wasn't actually spotted until 15 hours later, by a survey called the Asteroid Terrestrial-impact Last Alert System (ATLAS) at the Mauna Loa Observatory in Hawaii.
Of course, the caveat in this record is that it's the closest asteroid that didn't become a meteor. Obviously all the rocks that have struck the Earth in the past came closer than 2020 VT4. Some have even been known to skim the planet's atmosphere like a stone skipping across water, creating a visible fireball before bouncing off back into the ether. But 2020 VT4 is the closest one has come without doing that.
Asteroid set to fly by Earth THIS WEEK - NASA | Science | News | Express.co.uk
Asteroid 2020 VC1 is currently making its way through the solar system and on Thursday, November 12, the asteroid will reach its closest point to Earth. At 28 metres long, the asteroid is more than twice the size of a double-decker bus, and is currently whizzing through the solar system at 6.1 kilometres per second.
That is the equivalent of 21,960 kilometres per hour, which is quick enough to circle the entire planet in little more than an hour.
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One lunar distance is the measurement between the Earth and the Moon, so the asteroid will zoom by from more than 1.3 million miles away.
NASA Spacecraft Captures Far More Asteroid Samples than Expected
A NASA spacecraft that recently collected rocks from an asteroid captured far more material than expected. The American space agency says the sample was so large that it blocked the container door of the collector.
The samples were then trapped in a device called the collection head. NASA discovered the blocked door of the device in images received from the team controlling the spacecraft. The blockage caused some asteroid material to escape back out into space.
Happening on Twitter
A mysterious fireball was sighted streaking through the night sky over western Germany over the weekend. https://t.co/wMPimuan1P dwnews (from Germany) Sun Nov 29 22:18:00 +0000 2020
'Bright as a full moon': Fireball spotted in night sky over Japan https://t.co/21Jpl96vot SputnikInt Sun Nov 29 17:00:01 +0000 2020
Fireball 'as bright as full moon' spotted in night sky over Japan https://t.co/2VIaTLz5nK kyodo_english (from Tokyo, Japan) Sun Nov 29 09:11:13 +0000 2020
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