, initially known under temporary designation Sar2667, was a metre-sized

asteroid An asteroid is a minor planet—an object larger than a meteoroid that is neither a planet nor an identified comet—that orbits within the Solar System#Inner Solar System, inner Solar System or is co-orbital with Jupiter (Trojan asteroids). As ...

meteoroid A meteoroid ( ) is a small rocky or metallic body in outer space. Meteoroids are distinguished as objects significantly smaller than ''asteroids'', ranging in size from grains to objects up to wide. Objects smaller than meteoroids are classifie ...

that entered Earth's atmosphere on 13 February 2023 02:59

UTC Coordinated Universal Time (UTC) is the primary time standard globally used to regulate clocks and time. It establishes a reference for the current time, forming the basis for civil time and time zones. UTC facilitates international communica ...

and disintegrated as a

meteor A meteor, known colloquially as a shooting star, is a glowing streak of a small body (usually meteoroid) going through Earth's atmosphere, after being heated to incandescence by collisions with air molecules in the upper atmosphere, creating a ...

over the coast of

Normandy, France Normandy (; or ) is a geographical and cultural region in northwestern Europe, roughly coextensive with the historical Duchy of Normandy. Normandy comprises mainland Normandy (a part of France) and insular Normandy (mostly the British Chann ...

along the

English Channel The English Channel, also known as the Channel, is an arm of the Atlantic Ocean that separates Southern England from northern France. It links to the southern part of the North Sea by the Strait of Dover at its northeastern end. It is the busi ...

. It was discovered less than seven hours before

impact Impact may refer to: * Impact (mechanics), a large force or mechanical shock over a short period of time * Impact, Texas, a town in Taylor County, Texas, US Science and technology * Impact crater, a meteor crater caused by an impact event * Imp ...

, by Hungarian astronomer

Krisztián Sárneczky Krisztián Sárneczky (born 6 November 1974 in Budapest) is a Hungarian people, Hungarian teacher of geography and prolific discoverer of minor planets and supernovae, researching at Konkoly Observatory in Budapest, Hungary. He is a board member ...

Konkoly Observatory Konkoly Observatory (; obs. code: 053) is an astronomical observatory located in Budapest, Hungary is part of the Research Centre for Astronomy and Earth Sciences () and belongs to thHUN-REN Magyar Kutatási Hálózat Konkoly Observato ...

Piszkéstető Station The Piszkéstető Station or Piszkéstető Mountain Station is an astronomical observatory in Mátraszentimre in Mátra Mountains, about northeast of Hungary's capital Budapest. It is a station of Konkoly Observatory, first built in 1958. It ha ...

in the

Mátra Mountains The Mátra () is a mountain range in northern Hungary, between the towns Gyöngyös and Eger. The country's highest peak, Kékestető (1014 m), belongs to this mountain range. Formation Pre-volcanic formations The formation of the Mátra ...

Hungary Hungary is a landlocked country in Central Europe. Spanning much of the Pannonian Basin, Carpathian Basin, it is bordered by Slovakia to the north, Ukraine to the northeast, Romania to the east and southeast, Serbia to the south, Croatia and ...

. is the seventh asteroid discovered before impacting Earth and successfully predicted, and the third of those for which

meteorite A meteorite is a rock (geology), rock that originated in outer space and has fallen to the surface of a planet or Natural satellite, moon. When the original object enters the atmosphere, various factors such as friction, pressure, and chemical ...

s have been recovered. Before it impacted, was a

near-Earth asteroid A near-Earth object (NEO) is any small Solar System body orbiting the Sun whose closest approach to the Sun (perihelion) is less than 1.3 times the Earth–Sun distance (astronomical unit, AU). This definition applies to the object's orbit aro ...

on an Earth-crossing Apollo-type orbit.

Discovery

During a routine search for

near-Earth objects A near-Earth object (NEO) is any small Solar System body orbiting the Sun whose closest approach to the Sun (perihelion) is less than 1.3 times the Earth–Sun distance (astronomical unit, AU). This definition applies to the object's orbit aro ...

with his

Schmidt telescope Schmidt may refer to: * Schmidt (surname), including list of people and fictional characters with the surname * Schmidt (singer) (born 1990), German pop and jazz singer * Schmidt (lunar crater), a small lunar impact crater * Schmidt (Martian c ...

first imaged on 12 February 2023 at 20:18:07 UTC, when it was already less than from Earth and inside the orbit of the Moon at 0.61

lunar distance The instantaneous Earth–Moon distance, or distance to the Moon, is the distance from the center of Earth to the center of the Moon. In contrast, the Lunar distance (LD or \Delta_), or Earth–Moon characteristic distance, is a unit of measure ...

s. At discovery, the asteroid had an

apparent magnitude Apparent magnitude () is a measure of the Irradiance, brightness of a star, astronomical object or other celestial objects like artificial satellites. Its value depends on its intrinsic luminosity, its distance, and any extinction (astronomy), ...

of 19.4 and moved quickly in the northern hemisphere sky, at an

angular rate In physics, angular frequency (symbol ''ω''), also called angular speed and angular rate, is a scalar measure of the angle rate (the angle per unit time) or the temporal rate of change of the phase argument of a sinusoidal waveform or sine f ...

of 14

arcsecond A minute of arc, arcminute (abbreviated as arcmin), arc minute, or minute arc, denoted by the symbol , is a unit of angular measurement equal to of a degree. Since one degree is of a turn, or complete rotation, one arcminute is of a tu ...

s per minute and a

radial velocity The radial velocity or line-of-sight velocity of a target with respect to an observer is the rate of change of the vector displacement between the two points. It is formulated as the vector projection of the target-observer relative velocity ...

of towards Earth. Sárneczky immediately recognized it was a near-Earth object, but only realized it was on course for

with Earth when he reobserved it half an hour later. Sárneczky gave the object the temporary designation ''Sar2667'' and reported the discovery to the

Minor Planet Center The Minor Planet Center (MPC) is the official body for observing and reporting on minor planets under the auspices of the International Astronomical Union (IAU). Founded in 1947, it operates at the Smithsonian Astrophysical Observatory. Funct ...

's (MPC's)

Near-Earth Object Confirmation Page The Near-Earth Object Confirmation Page (NEOCP) is a web service listing recently-submitted observations of objects that may be near-Earth objects (NEOs). It is a service of the Minor Planet Center (MPC), which is the official international archive ...

at 20:49 UTC, calling for further follow-up from other observatories around the world. Astronomers at Višnjan Observatory in Tičan,

Croatia Croatia, officially the Republic of Croatia, is a country in Central Europe, Central and Southeast Europe, on the coast of the Adriatic Sea. It borders Slovenia to the northwest, Hungary to the northeast, Serbia to the east, Bosnia and Herze ...

observed the asteroid starting at 21:03 UTC and confirmed that it was headed for impact with Earth. The

European Space Agency The European Space Agency (ESA) is a 23-member International organization, international organization devoted to space exploration. With its headquarters in Paris and a staff of around 2,547 people globally as of 2023, ESA was founded in 1975 ...

took notice of the asteroid's impending impact and alerted the public through social media. Astronomers around the world continuously observed the asteroid to refine its trajectory as it approached Earth and its impact location. The asteroid reached a peak brightness of magnitude 13 (about the brightness of

Pluto Pluto (minor-planet designation: 134340 Pluto) is a dwarf planet in the Kuiper belt, a ring of Trans-Neptunian object, bodies beyond the orbit of Neptune. It is the ninth-largest and tenth-most-massive known object to directly orbit the Su ...

) right before it entered Earth's shadow at around 02:50 UTC. It then faded dramatically and became invisible until impact. The asteroid was last observed on 13 February 2023 02:52:07 UTC by Jost Jahn at the SATINO Remote Observatory in Haute Provence, France, just two minutes after it entered Earth's shadow and seven minutes before it impacted. At the time of that last observation, the asteroid had faded from magnitude 13 to 16 and moved extremely quickly at an angular rate of 1.7 degrees per minute, at a distance of approximately from Earth's center ( altitude). On 13 February 2023 04:13 UTC (one hour after the impact), MPC gave the asteroid its official

minor planet According to the International Astronomical Union (IAU), a minor planet is an astronomical object in direct orbit around the Sun that is exclusively classified as neither a planet nor a comet. Before 2006, the IAU officially used the term ''minor ...

provisional designation Provisional designation in astronomy is the naming convention applied to astronomical objects immediately following their discovery. The provisional designation is usually superseded by a permanent designation once a reliable orbit has been calcu ...

. At least 20 observatories observed and submitted

astrometry Astrometry is a branch of astronomy that involves precise measurements of the positions and movements of stars and other Astronomical object, celestial bodies. It provides the kinematics and physical origin of the Solar System and this galaxy, th ...

to the MPC before impact, with over 300 astrometric positions recorded in total.

Impact

At 02:59:21 UTC (local time 03:59:21

CET CET or cet may refer to: Places * Cet, Albania * Cet, standard astronomical abbreviation for the constellation Cetus * Colchester Town railway station (National Rail code CET), in Colchester, England Arts, entertainment, and media * Comcast En ...

), entered the atmosphere at a velocity of with an inclination 40–50° relative to the vertical. As the meteoroid travelled eastward over the

to the coast of

, it experienced significant

atmospheric drag In fluid dynamics, drag, sometimes referred to as fluid resistance, is a force acting opposite to the direction of motion of any object moving with respect to a surrounding fluid. This can exist between two fluid layers, two solid surfaces, or b ...

and began burning up as a bright

at an altitude of . It was seen by witnesses from France, Great Britain, Belgium, Netherlands, and Germany. The meteor began fragmenting at an altitude of and then completely broke apart at , producing a bright flash due to the rapid vaporization of its fragments. In the process, the meteor released a great amount of

kinetic energy In physics, the kinetic energy of an object is the form of energy that it possesses due to its motion. In classical mechanics, the kinetic energy of a non-rotating object of mass ''m'' traveling at a speed ''v'' is \fracmv^2.Resnick, Rober ...

. That produced a

shock wave In physics, a shock wave (also spelled shockwave), or shock, is a type of propagating disturbance that moves faster than the local speed of sound in the medium. Like an ordinary wave, a shock wave carries energy and can propagate through a me ...

, which was heard by some witnesses and was detected by French

seismograph A seismometer is an instrument that responds to ground displacement and shaking such as caused by quakes, volcanic eruptions, and explosions. They are usually combined with a timing device and a recording device to form a seismograph. The out ...

s. The meteor disappeared at an altitude of , after which its resulting

s continued falling in

dark flight ''Dark Flight'' () is a 2012 Thai horror film. The film was directed by Issara Nadee. It shows the journey of a passenger plane haunted by ghosts that gradually trick the passengers into going insane and killing each other. Plot Ten years ago, f ...

. Over 80 witness reports of the meteor were submitted to the

International Meteor Organization The International Meteor Organization (IMO) was formally founded in 1988 from predecessor gatherings over many years. IMO has several hundred members and was created in response to an ever-growing need for international cooperation on amateur and ...

(IMO). Upon breakup, dropped meteorites over the

Normandy Normandy (; or ) is a geographical and cultural region in northwestern Europe, roughly coextensive with the historical Duchy of Normandy. Normandy comprises Normandy (administrative region), mainland Normandy (a part of France) and insular N ...

region In geography, regions, otherwise referred to as areas, zones, lands or territories, are portions of the Earth's surface that are broadly divided by physical characteristics (physical geography), human impact characteristics (human geography), and ...

and produced a

strewn field A strewn field is the area where meteorites from a single meteorite fall, fall are dispersed. It is also often used for the area containing tektite, tektites produced by a large meteorite impact.''Tektites in the geological record: showers of glas ...

spanning from

Dieppe Dieppe (; ; or Old Norse ) is a coastal commune in the Seine-Maritime department, Normandy, northern France. Dieppe is a seaport on the English Channel at the mouth of the river Arques. A regular ferry service runs to Newhaven in England ...

Doudeville Doudeville () is a commune in the Seine-Maritime department in the Normandy region in northern France. Geography Called the flax capital, the town is situated at the centre of the Pays de Caux, the chalk plateau in High Normandy and one widely ...

. Guided by

Peter Jenniskens Petrus Matheus Marie (Peter) Jenniskens (born 1962 in Meterik) is a Dutch- American astronomer and a senior research scientist at the Carl Sagan Center of the SETI Institute and at NASA Ames Research Center. He is an expert on meteor showers, a ...

, researchers and

citizen scientist The term citizen science (synonymous to terms like community science, crowd science, crowd-sourced science, civic science, participatory monitoring, or volunteer monitoring) is research conducted with participation from the general public, or am ...

s of the Fireball Recovery and Interplanetary Observation Network ( FRIPON) immediately began a coordinated search effort in the expected

meteorite fall A meteorite fall, also called an observed fall, is a meteorite collected after its fall from outer space, that was also observed by people or automated devices. Any other meteorite is called a "meteorite find, find". There are more than 1,300 d ...

area. On 15 February 2023 15:47 UTC (local time 16:47 CET), FRIPON member and art student Loïs Leblanc found the first meteorite of in a field in the commune of

Saint-Pierre-le-Viger Saint-Pierre-le-Viger is a commune in the Seine-Maritime department in the Normandy region in northern France. Geography Hosting the farming village of the same name, the mainly agricultural commune is bisected by the north-flowing Dun. It is ...

. The meteorite weighed about and is described as a "dark stone." Late in the afternoon of the next day, Peter Jenniskens found a 3 g meteorite near the small-size end of the strewn field that confirmed the predicted center line. By March 2023, over 20 additional meteorites were recovered, with masses ranging . The IMO estimates that could have dropped only one large meteorite up to ~ in mass, plus an uncertain number of smaller meteorites up to several tens of grams each. The largest meteorite is expected to have landed near the commune of

Vénestanville Vénestanville () is a commune in the Seine-Maritime department in the Normandy region in northern France. Geography Its land is mostly farmed but interspersed with hedges, orchards and small woods. Agriculture in Normandy is biased towards ri ...

. is the seventh asteroid discovered before being successfully predicted to impact Earth, and also the third whose meteorites were collected after its predicted impact. It is Sárneczky's second discovery of an impacting asteroid, after which he discovered a year prior in March 2022.

Orbit

Prior to impact, was on an Apollo-type orbit that crossed the orbits of Earth and Mars. It orbited the Sun at an average distance of , varying from 0.92 AU at

perihelion An apsis (; ) is the farthest or nearest point in the orbit of a planetary body about its primary body. The line of apsides (also called apse line, or major axis of the orbit) is the line connecting the two extreme values. Apsides perta ...

to 2.34 AU at

aphelion An apsis (; ) is the farthest or nearest point in the orbit of a planetary body about its primary body. The line of apsides (also called apse line, or major axis of the orbit) is the line connecting the two extreme values. Apsides perta ...

due to its

eccentric orbit In astrodynamics, the orbital eccentricity of an astronomical object is a dimensionless quantity, dimensionless parameter that determines the amount by which its orbit around another body deviates from a perfect circle. A value of 0 is a circu ...

. The orbit had a low

inclination Orbital inclination measures the tilt of an object's orbit around a celestial body. It is expressed as the angle between a reference plane and the orbital plane or axis of direction of the orbiting object. For a satellite orbiting the Eart ...

of 3.4° with respect to the

ecliptic The ecliptic or ecliptic plane is the orbital plane of Earth's orbit, Earth around the Sun. It was a central concept in a number of ancient sciences, providing the framework for key measurements in astronomy, astrology and calendar-making. Fr ...

and an

orbital period The orbital period (also revolution period) is the amount of time a given astronomical object takes to complete one orbit around another object. In astronomy, it usually applies to planets or asteroids orbiting the Sun, moons orbiting planets ...

of 2.08 years. The asteroid last passed perihelion on 13 February 2021 and impacted Earth before it was set to make its next perihelion on 15 March 2023. The last time made a close approach to Earth was around 7 (± 1) June 2000, when it passed around from the planet. Before that, had made several distant close approaches with Earth and Mars during the 1900s, though it probably never approached within from these planets.

Notes

References

External links

* * * *

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