2023 CX1

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2023 CX1
LD)
Physical characteristics
Mean diameter
≈ 1 m[6][7]
Mass≈ 1000 kg[8]
≈ 13 (peak)[1]
32.645±0.512[4]
32.76[1]

2023 CX1, initially known under temporary designation Sar2667, was a metre-sized

near-Earth asteroid on an Earth-crossing Apollo-type orbit.[1]

Discovery

During a routine search for

arcseconds per minute and a radial velocity of 9 km/s (5.6 mi/s) towards Earth.[11] Sárneczky immediately recognized it was a near-Earth object, but only realized it was on course for impact with Earth when he reobserved it half an hour later.[9] Sárneczky gave the object the temporary designation Sar2667 and reported the discovery to the Minor Planet Center's (MPC's) Near-Earth Object Confirmation Page at 20:49 UTC, calling for further follow-up from other observatories around the world.[12] Astronomers at Višnjan Observatory in Tičan, Croatia observed the asteroid starting at 21:03 UTC and confirmed that it was headed for impact with Earth.[2][13]

The European Space Agency took notice of the asteroid's impending impact and alerted the public through social media.[10] Astronomers around the world continuously observed the asteroid to refine its trajectory as it approached Earth and its impact location.[12][11] The asteroid reached a peak brightness of magnitude 13 (about the brightness of Pluto) right before it entered Earth's shadow at around 02:50 UTC. It then faded dramatically and became invisible until impact.[1][12] The asteroid was last observed on 13 February 2023 02:52:07 UTC by Jost Jahn at the SATINO Remote Observatory in Haute Provence, France, just two minutes after it entered Earth's shadow and seven minutes before it impacted.[1][11] At the time of that last observation, the asteroid had faded from magnitude 13 to 16 and moved extremely quickly at an angular rate of 1.7 degrees per minute, at a distance of approximately 11,100 km (6,900 mi) from Earth's center (4,700 km or 2,900 mi altitude[a]).[14]

On 13 February 2023 04:13 UTC (one hour after the impact), MPC gave the asteroid its official

provisional designation 2023 CX1. At least 20 observatories observed 2023 CX1 and submitted astrometry to the MPC before impact, with over 300 astrometric positions recorded in total.[2][1]

Impact

Normandy, France
to the east.

At 02:59:21 UTC (local time 03:59:21

dark flight.[8] Over 80 witness reports of the meteor were submitted to the International Meteor Organization (IMO).[16]

The 94g meteorite found by Loïs Leblanc

Upon breakup, 2023 CX1 dropped meteorites over the

citizen scientists of the Fireball Recovery and Interplanetary Observation Network (FRIPON [fr]) immediately began a coordinated search effort in the expected meteorite fall area.[17] On 15 February 2023 15:47 UTC (local time 16:47 CET), FRIPON member and art student Loïs Leblanc found the first meteorite of 2023 CX1 in a field in the commune of Saint-Pierre-le-Viger.[17] The meteorite weighed about 95 g (3.4 oz)[18] and is described as a "dark stone."[17][19] Late in the afternoon of the next day, Peter Jenniskens found a 3 g meteorite near the small-size end of the strewn field that confirmed the predicted center line. By March 2023, over 20 additional meteorites were recovered, with masses ranging 2 to 350 g (0.1 to 12.3 oz).[18] The IMO estimates that 2023 CX1 could have dropped only one large meteorite up to ~2 kg (4 lb) in mass, plus an uncertain number of smaller meteorites up to several tens of grams each.[6][8] The largest meteorite is expected to have landed near the commune of Vénestanville.[8]

2023 CX1 is the seventh asteroid discovered before being successfully predicted to impact Earth, and also the third whose meteorites were collected after its predicted impact.[6][17] It is Sárneczky's second discovery of an impacting asteroid, after 2022 EB5 which he discovered a year prior in March 2022.[10]

Orbit

Prior to impact, 2023 CX1 was on an

eccentric orbit.[3] The orbit had a low inclination of 3.4° with respect to the ecliptic and an orbital period of 2.08 years. The asteroid last passed perihelion on 13 February 2021 and impacted Earth before it was set to make its next perihelion on 15 March 2023.[5][3]

The last time 2023 CX1 made a close approach to Earth was around 7 (± 1) June 2000, when it passed around 150–161 

LD (58–62 million km; 36–38 million mi) from the planet.[4] Before that, 2023 CX1 had made several distant close approaches with Earth and Mars during the 1900s, though it probably never approached within 10 LD (3.8 million km; 2.4 million mi) from these planets.[4]

See also

Notes

  1. Earth's radius
    of 6,371 km (3,959 mi).

References

  1. ^ a b c d e f g h "2023 CX1". Minor Planet Center. Retrieved 13 February 2023.
  2. ^ a b c d e "MPEC 2023-C103 : 2023 CX1". Minor Planet Electronic Circular. Minor Planet Center. 13 February 2023. Retrieved 13 February 2023.
  3. ^ a b c d "Horizons Batch showing epoch 2023-Jan-01". JPL Horizons. Jet Propulsion Laboratory. Retrieved 13 February 2023.
  4. ^ a b c d "JPL Small-Body Database Browser: (2023 CX1)" (2023-02-13 last obs.). Jet Propulsion Laboratory. Retrieved 13 February 2023.
  5. ^ a b "Perihelion @ 0.922 AU on 13 Feb 2021". JPL Horizons (Perihelion occurs when rdot flips from negative to positive). Jet Propulsion Laboratory. Retrieved 13 February 2023.
  6. ^ a b c d Whitt, Kelly Kizer (15 February 2023). "Small asteroid impacts Earth's atmosphere over France". EarthSky. Retrieved 15 February 2023.
  7. ^ Antier, Karl (13 February 2023). "Imminent asteroid entry over the Channel on Feb.13, 02h59 UT". International Meteor Organization. Retrieved 13 February 2023.
  8. ^ a b c d e f Borovička, Jiří; Spurný, Pavel (15 February 2023). "The atmospheric trajectory of 2023 CX1 and the possible meteorite strewn field". International Meteor Organization. Retrieved 15 February 2023.
  9. ^ a b "Pictures from space! Our image of the day". Space.com. 13 February 2023. Retrieved 13 February 2023.
  10. ^ a b c d Howell, Elizabeth (13 February 2023). "Falling asteroid sparks brilliant fireball over Europe just hours after discovery (video)". Space.com. Retrieved 13 February 2023.
  11. ^ a b c d "Horizons Batch from 2023-Feb-12 20:18 and 2023-Feb-13 03:00". JPL Horizons. Jet Propulsion Laboratory. Retrieved 13 February 2023.
  12. ^ a b c "Seventh shooting star ever spotted before strike". European Space Agency. 13 February 2023. Retrieved 13 February 2023.
  13. ^ a b c Antier, Karl (13 February 2023). "2023 CX1 : 7th predicted Earth impact!". International Meteor Organization. Retrieved 13 February 2023.
  14. ^ "Horizons Batch on 2023-Feb-13 02:52:07". JPL Horizons. Jet Propulsion Laboratory. Retrieved 14 February 2023.
  15. ^ a b c Steinhausser, Asma (14 February 2023). "Pluie de pierres en Normandie!" (in French). FRIPON/Vigie-Ciel. Retrieved 15 February 2023.
  16. ^ a b "Fireball Events in 2023 → 937-2023". International Meteor Organization. 13 February 2023. Retrieved 13 February 2023.
  17. ^ a b c d Antier, Karl (15 February 2023). "Une météorite normande issue de 2023 CX1 retrouvée!" (in French). FRIPON/Vigie-Ciel. Retrieved 15 February 2023.
  18. ^ a b Green, Daniel W. E. (6 March 2023). "CBET 5230 : 2023 CX_1". Central Bureau Electronic Telegrams (5230). Central Bureau for Astronomical Telegrams. Retrieved 18 February 2024.
  19. ^ Dickinson, David (17 February 2023). "Small Asteroid Spotted Hours Before Demise". Sky & Telescope. Retrieved 19 February 2023.

External links

Retrieved from "https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=2023_CX1&oldid=1211894044"