Oct 06, 2008

Dwayne Brown Headquarters, Washington
202-358-1726 dwayne c brown@nasa gov

Veronica McGregor Jet Propulsion Laboratory 818-354-9452 veronica c mcgregor@jpl nasa gov
RELEASE: 08-254

SMALL ASTEROID TO LIGHT UP SKY OVER AFRICA

WASHINGTON -- An asteroid measuring several feet in diameter is expected to enter the atmosphere over northern Sudan before dawn Tuesday, setting off a potentially brilliant natural fireworks display

It is unlikely any sizable fragments will survive the fiery passage through Earth's atmosphere The event is expected to occur at 5:46 a m local time (10:46 p m EDT Monday)

"We estimate objects this size enter Earth's atmosphere once every few months," said Don Yeomans of the Near-Earth Object Office at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena, Calif "The unique aspect of this event is that it is the first time we have observed an impacting object during its final approach "

The small space rock, designated 2008 TC3, will be traveling on an eastward trajectory that will carry it toward the Red Sea

"Observers in the region could be in for quite a show," Yeomans said "When the object enters the atmosphere, it could become an extremely bright fireball "

The small space rock first was observed by the Mount Lemon telescope of the NASA-funded Catalina Sky Survey early Monday NASA detects and tracks asteroids and comets passing close to Earth The Near Earth Object Observation Program, commonly called "Spaceguard," plots the orbits of these objects to determine if any could be potentially hazardous to our planet

For more information, visit:

http://neo jpl nasa gov/

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