Asteroids fly more than 61,000 km / h through the Earth's atmosphere

Asteroid 2018 LA with a diameter of only about 1.8m across the atmosphere and caught fire.

Asteroid 2018 LA turns into a glowing fire bridge in the sky of Botswana on the evening of June 2, Fox News reported. 2018 LA was discovered by the Catalina Sky Survey team on the morning of the same day, according to NASA's Near-Earth Research Center (CNEOS).

Asteroids enter the atmosphere at 18: 44 local time and then ignite at a height of several kilometers.

The asteroid is estimated to be about 1.8 meters wide, small enough to burn down in the Earth's atmosphere. At speeds of more than 61,000 km / h, it enters the atmosphere at 1844 local time and then ignites at a height of several kilometers. Reports of fireballs glow on Botswana, Africa, on the evening of June 2, matching the expected 2018 LA route, NASA said.

Scientists can observe this a few hours before the event thanks to ATLAS, an asteroid collision early warning system developed by the University of Hawaii and funded by NASA. The team also narrowed the expected collision point using the Scout automated system at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL).

"This is the third time that asteroids have collided with the Earth. This is also the second time that a high probability of collisions is expected before the event," Paul Chodas, managing at CNEOS, said. share.