Australia just had a very close encounter with an asteroid… and almost nobody noticed.
While most of us were fast asleep, a tiny space rock hurtled toward Earth before entering the atmosphere just off the coast of northwestern Australia. And while “asteroid heading towards Australia” sounds like the opening scene of a disaster movie, thankfully this one was much less dramatic.
Meet Our Tiny Space Visitor
The asteroid, known as CERNQ52, was less than one metre wide. So, we’re not talking about some giant space rock capable of sending Australia into an Armageddon sequel. This was more of a cosmic pebble than a planet destroyer.
It was spotted on Sunday, just hours before it was expected to enter Earth’s atmosphere at around 2.30am AEST on Monday. Scientists were able to track its path and work out where it was heading.
Scientists Saw It Coming
And this is the really cool part.
Astronomers managed to detect the asteroid before it reached Earth, with the tiny rock expected to burn up in the atmosphere and potentially create a bright meteor or fireball.
There was no danger to Australia, so thankfully there was no need to panic, evacuate or finally build that backyard bunker you’ve been talking about.
Australia Was Probably Asleep
The timing does make this story very Australian, though.
While a tiny asteroid was making its way through our corner of the atmosphere at around 2.30am, most of the country was probably completely oblivious.
Something exciting happens in the sky in the middle of the night and we all sleep through it.
Typical Australia.
It’s Actually Pretty Rare
CERNQ52 reportedly became only the 13th asteroid ever discovered before impacting Earth’s atmosphere, making this tiny space rock part of a very exclusive club.
So, no asteroid apocalypse this time.
Just a little piece of space dropping by Australia in the middle of the night… and leaving before we could say hello. 😂
