Harry is a U.K.-based senior staff writer at Live Science. He studied marine biology at the University of Exeter before training to become a journalist. He covers a wide range of topics including space exploration, planetary science, space weather, climate change, animal behavior, evolution and paleontology.
An asteroid that fell to Earth in 2022 and exploded in a stunning green fireball above Canada was the smallest space rock ever properly measured, a new study suggests. The diminutive asteroid, which was only discovered a few hours before it blew up, was around the same size as an average domestic cat.
In a new study, published Nov. 22 in The Planetary Science Journal, researchers analyzed observations of the asteroid's brightness, collected by LDT and Western University's cameras, and determined that the space rock was somewhere between 16 to 24 inches wide. This is the smallest confirmed size for any asteroid, researchers wrote in a statement.
By submitting your information you agree to the Terms & Conditions and Privacy Policy and are aged 16 or over.Closely monitoring this impactor with both a telescope and a professional camera system enabled the team to compare data and make more accurate predictions about the meteor's composition and size. This was the first time that astronomers had ever been able to do this, study co-author Denis Vida, an expert in meteor physics at Western University, said in the statement.
Researchers can also learn more about fireballs by collecting the fragments that fall to Earth's surface as meteorites.
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