JPL
Careers
Education
Science & Technology
JPL Logo
JPL Logo
Asteroids and Comets
.

NASA System Predicts Impact of Small Asteroid

March 15, 2022

Your browser cannot play the provided video file(s).

This animation shows asteroid 2022 EB5's predicted orbit around the Sun before impacting into the Earth’s atmosphere on March 11, 2022. The asteroid – estimated to be about 6 ½ feet (2 meters) wide – was discovered only two hours before impact.

Credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech

Asteroid 2022 EB5 was too small to pose a hazard to Earth, but its discovery marks the fifth time that any asteroid has been observed before impacting into the atmosphere.

A small asteroid hit Earth’s atmosphere over the Norwegian Sea before disintegrating on March 11, 2022. But this event wasn’t a complete surprise: Astronomers knew it was on a collision course, predicting exactly where and when the impact would happen.

Two hours before the asteroid made impact, K. Sarneczky at the Piszkéstető Observatory in northern Hungary first reported observations of the small object to the Minor Planet Center – the internationally recognized clearinghouse for the position measurements of small celestial bodies. The object was posted on the Minor Planet Center’s Near-Earth Object Confirmation Page to flag it for additional observations that would confirm it as a previously unknown asteroid.

NASA’s “Scout” impact hazard assessment system then took these early measurements to calculate the trajectory of 2022 EB5. As soon as Scout determined that 2022 EB5 was going to hit Earth’s atmosphere, the system alerted the Center for Near Earth Object Studies (CNEOS) and NASA’s Planetary Defense Coordination Office, and flagged the object on the Scout webpage to notify the near-Earth object observing community. Maintained by CNEOS at NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Southern California, Scout automatically searches the Minor Planet Center’s database for possible new short-term impactors. CNEOS calculates every known near-Earth asteroid orbit to improve impact hazard assessments in support of the Planetary Defense Coordination Office.

“Scout had only 14 observations over 40 minutes from one observatory to work with when it first identified the object as an impactor. We were able to determine the possible impact locations, which initially extended from western Greenland to off the coast of Norway,” said Davide Farnocchia, a navigation engineer at JPL who developed Scout. “As more observatories tracked the asteroid, our calculations of its trajectory and impact location became more precise.”

Fully interactive, Eyes on Asteroids uses science data to help visualize asteroid and comet orbits around the Sun. Zoom in to travel along with your favorite spacecraft as they explore these fascinating near-Earth objects in beautiful 3D.

Scout determined that 2022 EB5 would enter the atmosphere southwest of Jan Mayen, a Norwegian island nearly 300 miles (470 kilometers) off the east coast of Greenland and northeast of Iceland. At 5:23 p.m. EST (2:23 p.m. PST), 2022 EB5 hit the atmosphere as predicted by Scout, and infrasound detectors have confirmed the impact occurred at the predicted time.

From observations of the asteroid as it approached Earth and the energy measured by infrasound detectors at time of impact, 2022 EB5 is estimated to have been about 6 1/2 feet (2 meters) in size. Tiny asteroids of this size get bright enough to be detected only in the last few hours before their impact (or before they make a very close approach to Earth). They are much smaller than the objects that the Planetary Defense Coordination Office is tasked by NASA with detecting and warning about.

“Tiny asteroids like 2022 EB5 are numerous, and they impact into the atmosphere quite frequently – roughly every 10 months or so,” said Paul Chodas, the director of CNEOS at JPL. “But very few of these asteroids have actually been detected in space and observed extensively prior to impact, basically because they are very faint until the last few hours, and a survey telescope has to observe just the right spot of sky at the right time for one to be detected.”

A larger asteroid with hazardous impact potential would be discovered much farther from Earth. NASA’s goal is to keep track of such asteroids and to calculate their trajectories in order to have many years’ notice ahead of a potential impact should one ever be identified. But this real-world event with a very small asteroid allowed the planetary defense community to exercise capabilities and gave some confidence that the impact prediction models at CNEOS are highly capable of informing the response to the potential impact of a larger object.

2022 EB5 is only the fifth small asteroid to be detected in space before hitting Earth’s atmosphere. The first asteroid to be discovered and tracked well before hitting Earth was 2008 TC3, which entered the atmosphere over Sudan and broke up in October 2008. That 13-foot-wide (4-meter-wide) asteroid scattered hundreds of small meteorites over the Nubian Desert. As surveys become more sophisticated and sensitive, more of these harmless objects will be detected before entering the atmosphere.

More information about CNEOS, asteroids, and near-Earth objects can be found at:

https://cneos.jpl.nasa.gov

and

https://www.jpl.nasa.gov/asteroid-watch

For more information about NASA’s Planetary Defense Coordination Office, visit:

https://www.nasa.gov/planetarydefense

For asteroid and comet news and updates, follow @AsteroidWatch on Twitter.

News Media Contact

Ian J. O’Neill

Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Pasadena, Calif.

818-354-2649

ian.j.oneill@jpl.nasa.gov

Karen Fox / Josh Handal / Alana Johnson

Headquarters, Washington

301-286-6284 / 202-358-2307 / 202-358-1501

karen.c.fox@nasa.gov / joshua.a.handal@nasa.gov / alana.r.johnson@nasa.gov

2022-32

Related News

Asteroids and Comets .

NASA’s Planetary Radar Captures Detailed View of Oblong Asteroid

Asteroids and Comets .

Webb Detects Extremely Small Main Belt Asteroid

Asteroids and Comets .

NASA System Predicts Small Asteroid to Pass Close by Earth This Week

Asteroids and Comets .

Construction Begins on NASA’s Next-Generation Asteroid Hunter

Asteroids and Comets .

NASA Program Predicted Impact of Small Asteroid Over Ontario, Canada

Asteroids and Comets .

As Psyche Mission Moves Forward, NASA Responds to Independent Review

Asteroids and Comets .

NASA to Discuss Psyche Independent Review Board Results

Asteroids and Comets .

NASA Continues Psyche Asteroid Mission

Asteroids and Comets .

NASA’s Asteroid-Striking DART Mission Team Has JPL Members

Asteroids and Comets .

NASA to Discuss Psyche Asteroid Mission

Explore More

Mission .

Psyche

Event Oct. 13, 2022 .

Near Earth Objects – Opportunities for Discoveries

Mission .

Near Earth Asteroid Scout

Asteroid Watch Overview .

Asteroid Watch

Asteroid Watch Fast Facts .

Fast Facts

Mission .

Stardust

Mission .

NEOWISE

Mission .

Microwave Instrument for the Rosetta Orbiter

Mission .

Hayabusa

Mission .

Deep Space 1

About JPL
Who We Are
Executive Council
Directors
Careers
Internships
The JPL Story
JPL Achievements
Documentary Series
Annual Reports
Missions
Current
Past
Future
All
News
All
Earth
Solar System
Stars and Galaxies
Subscribe to JPL News
Galleries
Images
Videos
Audio
Podcasts
Apps
Visions of the Future
Slice of History
Robotics at JPL
Events
Lecture Series
Team Competitions
Speakers Bureau
Calendar
Visit
Public Tours
Virtual Tour
Directions and Maps
Topics
JPL Life
Solar System
Mars
Earth
Climate Change
Exoplanets
Stars and Galaxies
Robotics
More
Asteroid Watch
NASA's Eyes Visualizations
Universe - Internal Newsletter
Social Media
Get the Latest from JPL
Follow Us

JPL is a federally funded research and development center managed for NASA by Caltech.

More from JPL
Careers Education Science & Technology Acquisitions JPL Store
Careers
Education
Science & Technology
Acquisitions
JPL Store
Related NASA Sites
Basics of Spaceflight
Climate Kids
Earth / Global Climate Change
Exoplanet Exploration
Mars Exploration
Solar System Exploration
Space Place
NASA's Eyes Visualization Project
Voyager Interstellar Mission
NASA
Caltech
Privacy
Image Policy
FAQ
Feedback
Site Managers: Veronica McGregor, Randal Jackson
Site Editors: Tony Greicius, Naomi Hartono
CL#: 21-0018