spacetoday.net: Observations confirm asteroid entry

Observations confirm asteroid entry

Posted: Thu, Oct 9, 2008, 6:28 AM ET (1028 GMT)
A small asteroid discovered Sunday burned up in the Earth's atmosphere early Tuesday as expected, astronomers announced this week. The asteroid, 2008 TC3, entered the atmosphere over northern Sudan at 10:46 pm EDT Monday (0246 UT); the asteroid had been discovered in observations performed just the night before. Reports from observers, including a commercial airliner pilot, indicate that the object arrived at the expected time and location, creating a visible flash. Astronomers believe that, at most, only a few small pieces of the asteroid, estimated to be about 2 meters across, reached the surface.