Asteroid 2024 RW1 orbit prior to Earth impact

On 4 September at 16:39 UTC (18:39 CEST), the small asteroid 2024 RW1 entered Earth's atmosphere near the Philippines, exploding in a fireball witnessed by people in the region.

Astronomers around the world, including those from ESA’s Near-Earth Object Coordination Centre, began to track the asteroid, submitting new observations to the Minor Planet Center until it entered Earth's shadow just 37 minutes before impact.

Using these observations, astronomers can determine the asteroid's orbit prior to impact.