An asteroid being tracked as it hurtled towards Australia has mysteriously vanished, and astronomers are calling on the public to help trace its path.
The reward is that you could help protect the future of humankind.
The object was detected in space on May 15, just two hours before it impacted Earth at around 11pm (ACST).
As the asteroid entered the Earth’s atmosphere and became a meteor, it would have been travelling at 13km.
Have you spotted a meteor? Contact [email protected]
As it burned up in the sky, it could have been as bright as a full moon, but surprisingly, there were no witness reports for almost a month.
Then, a few days ago, a fisherman submitted a delayed report of a “genuine fireball” in the Northern Territory sky, sparking hope that others had noticed it too.
Incredible reward for helping track asteroid
Dr Hadrien Devillepoix from Curtin University’s School of Earth and Planetary Science told Yahoo News sightings are incredibly valuable to science.
“Small asteroids like this are not dangerous to people,” he said.
But he notes there’s a big reward for everyone on Earth if we can learn to track asteroids.
Doing so is an important practice for honing our ability to find larger objects and defend Earth against them.
“We don’t yet have a full census of dangerous asteroids,” he said.
“At 10 to 20 metres they can cause damage on a city-scale, and at 200 metres across they can have regional or global effects.
“Think of something like a nuclear winter, where dust is kicked up, blocking the sun for months or even years.”
Asteroid sighting sparks fear among scientists
Agencies in Australia, Europe and the United States are learning to better track asteroids.
In 2024, astronomers located asteroid YR4, which is thought to be between 60 and 100 metres across.
“It had a non-zero probability impact with the Earth in 2032, so there was a bit of a scramble,” Dr Devillepoix said.
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While it was ultimately deemed not to be a threat, it renewed awareness of how vulnerable Earth is to asteroids.
How you can help track the May 15 meteor
The May 15 meteor that scientists are hoping to track is thought to have landed somewhere between northern Western Australia and Papua New Guinea, a distance of over 2,700km.
But reports could help reduce the search area to a mere 200km.
Curtin University and the Desert Fireball Network are hoping to hear from anyone who saw the meteor or captured it on home security or dashcam footage. It’s also possible someone heard it.
Although the asteroid would have initially measured 50cm to 1 metre, actually finding its remnants on Earth is unlikely, as it may have burned down to nothing but dust.
If you witnessed the meteor, contact Dr Devillepoix at the Desert Fireball Network to report it.
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This article originally appeared on Yahoo News Australia at https://au.news.yahoo.com/incredible-reward-as-aussies-begin-2700km-search-for-mysterious-object-230000789.html
