A large meteorite entered the atmosphere and broke into pieces in the air over the Eastern Cape Province of the Republic of South Africa. According to the information received, the incident occurred on the morning of August 25. website Wits University Johannesburg.
At first, observers mistook the bright streak in the sky over St. Francis Bay for falling space debris.
However, experts concluded that the object was a rocky asteroid the size of a car. It was moving at very high speed and broke into pieces due to friction with the atmosphere.
Researchers said they had already received reports of meteorite fragments being discovered near the town of Kirkwood in the Eastern Cape, meaning the fragments had fallen more than 100 kilometres (62 miles) from where the space rock entered the atmosphere.
Scientists have called on South Africans to join the search for pieces of the asteroid or submit their observations of what happened to Wits University.
Since the founding of South Africa, only 22 meteorite falls have been recorded in the republic. These are recognised as national heritage sites and trade in asteroid fragments is regulated by law.
Earlier scientists warned About the possibility of falling to Earth debris from the NASA DART probe, with the help of which it is possible to change the orbit of the asteroid Dimorph in 2022.
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Source: Gazeta
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