Asteroid to burn up before hitting Earth
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - A tiny asteroid discovered earlier Monday by an Arizona observatory will hit Earth's atmosphere over Sudan in a few hours but will burn up before it can hit the ground or endanger aircraft, astronomers said.
The asteroid will create a large fireball at about 10:46 p.m. EDT (0246 GMT on Tuesday) as it burns up, the team at the Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics said.
"We want to stress that this object is not a threat," said Dr. Timothy Spahr, director of the International Astronomical Union's Minor Planet Center at Harvard in Massachusetts.
"We're excited since this is the first time we have issued a prediction that an object will enter Earth's atmosphere," Spahr added in a statement.
The asteroid, known as a meteoroid, is between 3 and 15 feet in diameter.
"A typical meteor comes from an object the size of a grain of sand," said Gareth Williams of the Minor Planet Center. "This meteor will be a real humdinger in comparison."
It will be visible from eastern Africa and will evaporate over Sudan, the scientists said.
"We really hope that someone will manage to photograph it," said Williams.
(Reporting by Maggie Fox, editing by Will Dunham and John O'Callaghan)
