The biggest fireball asteroid in 2018 exploded on Russia, but NASA did not notice it after the impact

While NASA is getting its technology to detect and prevent asteroids, it seems that the Russians have just encountered their own fireball.

What happened in Russia?

NASA confirmed that a fireball struck the Earth on June 21 at 1:15 UTC. The fireball was seen from the Russian city of Lipetsk, southeast of Moscow and to the Ukrainian border.

Witnesses from the cities of Kursk, Voronzeh and Orel saw the asteroid of the fireball as it lit up the sky before throwing itself towards the Earth. In addition to seeing the asteroid, witnesses have reported a loud boom. No injury or damage has been reported.

In 2013, a large fireball asteroid hit the Russian city of Chelyabinsk. Nearly 1,500 people required medical care. Due to the huge size of Russia, the country is more likely to have asteroidal incidents.

How was the fireball detected?

At first, the fireball was captured by a local video that was uploaded online. It has also been detected by nine stations operated by the International Monitoring System (IMS), as well as by other meteorological satellites. Officials said that he ran to the earth at about 2.8 kilotons. In comparison, the fireball in Chelyabinsk was 440 kilotons.

"We determined that a source of energy from the fireball was equivalent to about 3.2 kt of TNT, which corresponds to an incoming asteroid of about 4 meters in diameter," writes L & R. # 39; IMS.

NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory at the California Institute of Technology also detected the asteroid, but after it hit Russia. He estimates that the asteroid had a width of about 4 meters and a speed of 14.4 km / s. This fireball, which moved at 32,000 miles at the time, was the largest of its kind in 2018.

What does this incident say about NASA?

This incident in Russia highlights NASA's inability to spot the asteroid before it reaches the Earth. Last week, NASA is committed to taking the lead in predicting asteroids and protecting the planet against them.

A 10-year plan was released by the White House's Office of Science and Technology Policy in June. The plan describes how the government could protect against asteroids. In the 18-page report, NASA wants to improve its tracking capabilities to locate asteroids faster. Improved technology could also help predict the probability of an asteroid striking the Earth. NASA will have to budget the money to make these changes. The current system in place does not have the capabilities to detect all the asteroid threats, as evidenced by the recent fireball in Russia. Fortunately, NASA can make these changes right away before it's too late.

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