AN asteroid discovered today will hit Earth's atmosphere over Sudan in a few hours but will burn up before it can hit the ground or endanger aircraft, astronomers say. The asteroid would create a large fireball about 10.46pm EDT (1.46pm AEST) as it burns up, a team at the Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics said."We want to stress that this object is not a threat," said Timothy Spahr, director of the International Astronomical Union's Minor Planet Center at Harvard in Massachusetts. "We're excited since this is the first time we have issued a prediction that an object will enter Earth's atmosphere," Dr Spahr said.
The asteroid, known as a meteoroid, is between 1m and 5m in diameter. "A typical meteor comes from an object the size of a grain of sand," said Gareth Williams of the Minor Planet Centre. "This meteor will be a real humdinger in comparison."
It would be visible from eastern Africa and would evaporate over Sudan, the scientists said. "We really hope that someone will manage to photograph it," said Mr Williams.