Small asteroid impact today over the ocean near Australia
A small asteroid impact will occur in the next few hours near NW Australia. The meteor should harmlessly burn up in Earth's atmosphere and poses no danger. The post Small asteroid impact today over the ocean near Australia first appeared on EarthSky .
A recently discovered asteroid, less than 1 meter in diameter, is expected to impact Earth's atmosphere over the Indian Ocean near northwest Australia today, September 6, 2026. The impact is projected to occur between 16:00 and 16:30 UTC, or 11 a.m. and 11:30 a.m. Central Daylight Time (CDT). The asteroid, currently named CERNQ52, has been tracked by the Mount Lemmon Observatory and poses no significant threat to Earth.
When the meteor enters the atmosphere near Australia, the skies should be dark, providing an opportunity for witnesses to see a bright flash. Richard Moissl, the Head of Planetary Defense for the European Space Agency (ESA), confirmed the asteroid's trajectory and impact time on social media. Adrien Coffinet of the Minor Planet Mailing List noted that this will be the first Aten asteroid (an orbit inside Earth's) detected before impact, as previous impactors were Apollo asteroids (an orbit outside Earth's).
Residents in the affected area are encouraged to report any sightings of the meteor to the International Meteor Organization or share images with EarthSky Community Photos.
Written by urgent.news from EarthSky's reporting — not their text. Machine-written — may contain errors; check the original before relying on it.
