Asteroid Flybys and Fireball Over Yakutia

Asteroid 2020 XR, roughly the size of a football stadium, made its closest approach to Earth on December 4, passing within 1.37 million miles, without posing any immediate threat. On the same day, a small asteroid approximately 70 cm in diameter created a spectacular fireball as it entered Earth's atmosphere over Russia's remote Yakutia region. The European Space Agency detected the asteroid 12 hours prior, describing the impact as harmless with no damage reported. Residents of Yakutia shared videos of the bright meteor-like phenomenon on social media. The asteroid, temporarily named C0WEPC5, was one of two expected flybys for the week and marks Earth's fourth detected asteroid strike of the year. NASA credited the University of Arizona's Bok telescope for the asteroid's initial spotting, highlighting advancements in detection and planetary defense.