Asteroid 2022 WJ1 blazes over the Great Lakes

[Rick]

Bright fireball may have dropped meteorites in Niagara region

A cosmic drama unfolded over southern Ontario on the night of Friday, Nov. 18, triggering an international collaboration and a meteorite hunt. Just before midnight Eastern time, the Catalina Sky Survey in Arizona detected a small object heading toward Earth.

This small asteroid, now designated 2022 WJ1, was followed by many observatories around the world for the next three hours before it impacted over southern Ontario at 3:26am EST on Nov. 19.

More: https://news.westernu.ca/2022/11/niagara-meteor/

[Rick]

Because of the advance warning, quite a few folks were ready and watching. Even so, a lot of the imagery is of the accidental security camera type.

See https://fireball.amsmeteors.org/members/imo_view/event/2022/8984

[Rick]

Fireball Flashes Above Ontario and Parts of the U.S.

A fireball that soared over Ontario, Canada, early on Saturday was the sixth object to be detected in space before it struck Earth, the European Space Agency said.

In the early hours of Saturday, word spread in the community of professional and amateur astronomers that a meteor was on its way and that observers should keep their telescopes and cameras trained toward the sky.

The Minor Planet Center, which tracks objects in the solar system, said the meteor entered Earth's atmosphere at approximately 3:27 a.m. Eastern Standard Time, over Brantford, Ontario.

More: https://www.nytimes.com/2022/11/19/science/fireball-asteroid-toronto-new-york.html

[Rick]

Fifth asteroid ever discovered before impact

Most asteroids that have impacted Earth were discovered many years, often many millions of years, after the event. The evidence? Roughly 200 known craters scar Earth's surface, telling an impactful story of how our planet, and life on it, has been dramatically shaped by violent collisions with ancient space rocks. On occasion – five in human history, to be precise – we discover an asteroid before it strikes.

More: https://www.esa.int/Space_Safety/Planetary_Defence/Fifth_asteroid_ever_discovered_before_impact

This from Nick James:

2022 WJ1 was the sixth object detected pre-impact and the smallest so far at < 1m and it is a very impressive demonstration of the current NEO survey capabilities and the associated amateur and professional observational follow up. There were 48 optical measurements of the object in the 3 hours between discovery and it hitting the atmosphere.

See: https://newton.spacedys.com/neodys/index.php?pc=1.1.0&n=2022WJ1

[Rick]

Once Again the Catalina Sky Survey Discovers an Earth-Impacting Asteroid

At 3:27am local time in the wee hours of November 19, 2022, folks in the greater Toronto, Ontario region were jarred awake by a bright skyward flash of light, rippling sonic booms, and even some reported ground shaking. The cause this pre-dawn ruckus occurred as a small asteroid ended its space-borne travels by slamming into the Earth's atmosphere near the southern Great Lakes region, Canada. Fortunately, the asteroid impact was harmless as the 1-meter sized space rock disintegrated during its fiery passage through the atmosphere, perhaps dropping some small fragments to the Earth's surface near the southern shores of Lake Ontario.

More: https://catalina.lpl.arizona.edu/news/once-again-catalina-sky-survey-discovers-earth-impacting-asteroid