‘Fireball’ seen over UK city as asteroid passes Earth

Sightings in the sky were reported across the Wiltshire town on Friday night and Saturday morning as green flashes or a “huge exploding star”.

While it cannot be confirmed as the explanation, NASA has predicted that the asteroid called 2024 RN16 will pass the Earth in those times.(Image: public submission)

The first sightings of a “fireball” were on Friday, September 13, between 8 and 8:45 p.m.

Online comments included: “I saw it. It was amazing. Similar to a shooting star, but much closer, bigger, brighter and shot across the sky at a slower rate.

Another described: “At first I thought it was a firework, but it didn’t explode like fire in the sky.”(Image: public submission)

Another said it was “bright green” – this color may be from nickel, a common component of a meteor’s core.

A second sighting was recorded early in the morning on September 14.

One person, who asked not to be named, told us: “There was something burning with a red trail going towards the ground, and it was followed by another object moving at high speed.

“It was about 6.30 am, and I could see between J16 and Old Town, then Liden.”(Image: public submission)

Traveling at 65,095 mph, the 33-meter-wide asteroid 2024 RN16 was predicted by NASA’s Center for Near-Earth Object Studies to come within a million miles of Earth at 8.46 am on September 14 .

Another smaller asteroid, 2024 RK13, was expected to come even closer to Earth in the evening, around 9:05 p.m.

Fast moving asteroids appear as a red, green and blue dot in succession. Asteroids that move very fast can appear as colorful streaks.

According to the Economic Times: “If an asteroid the size of 2024 RN16 were to hit Earth, the impact would be extremely destructive.

A map shows how close one of the asteroids came to Earth (Image: NASA)“It is estimated that if the asteroid entered the Earth’s atmosphere, it would explode 29 kilometers above the ground, releasing energy equivalent to 16 megatons of TNT.”

The Center for Near Object Studies at NASA monitors asteroids and comets to assess their risk of impact, since an impact as described above is expected once every 990 years.

Fortunately, 2024 RN16 will pass by Earth safely without causing any effect.

A NASA spokesperson said: “With NASA’s vigilant monitoring, Earth remains protected from the dangers of space rocks like 2024 RN16.”