Asteroid lights up sky over Russia’s far east

A small asteroid hit Earth’s atmosphere and produced a spectacular fireball in the sky across the far east of Russia in the early hours of Wednesday morning.

People from the remote Russian republic of Sakha, in northeastern Siberia, stood out in the snow to catch a glimpse of the phenomenon, which astronomers spotted about 12 hours before it arrived, the European Space Agency (ESA) said.

The asteroid measured an estimated 70cm and entered Earth’s atmosphere at 01:15 local time (16:15 GMT), according to the ESA.

The Sakha emergencies ministry said officials had been placed on alert but that no damage had been reported after the asteroid’s descent.