Overview

• A small asteroid, 2024 BX1, was detected just hours before it disintegrated over Germany, marking the eighth time in history that a small Earth-bound asteroid has been detected before impact.
• The asteroid was first spotted by Hungarian astronomer Krisztián Sárneczky using the 60 cm Schmidt Telescope at Hungary’s Piszkéstető Mountain Station.
• NASA’s Scout impact hazard assessment system provided a warning about 95 minutes before the asteroid impacted Earth’s atmosphere.
• Despite the asteroid's small size (about 1 meter in diameter), its impact was visible from as far away as the Czech Republic and may have scattered small meteorites on the ground.
• The event highlights the increasing precision of near-Earth object (NEO) tracking systems and the advancements in planetary defense capabilities.