Incredible moment asteroid crashes into Earth's atmosphere

Incredible footage has captured the moment an asteroid smashed through Earth's atmosphere over Siberia.

The space rock, designated COWECP5, appeared in the night sky at 11:14pm local time (11:14am ET) hours after NASA's asteroid detection system put out the warning.

Locals posted videos on social media showing the asteroid streaking through the night sky and bursting into a ball of flames before disappearing into the abyss.

The space rock exploded in a stunning red light over Yakutia, soaring over the bright city lights and was seen firing off flames as it flew over Olekminsk.

The emergencies ministry in Yakutia said all official had been placed on alert as the asteroid approached, but noted that no damage had been reported after its descent.

'Residents of Olekminsk and Lensk districts were able to observe in the night a tail similar to a comet and a flash,' it said.

A NASA-funded telescope in Arizona identified the asteroid about seven hours prior to impact, revealing it measured about 27 inches in diameter.

The small size meant that it would likely burn up in the atmosphere and posed no threat to people on the ground.

COWECP5 is only the 12th time scientists have accurately reported an asteroid before it struck and the fourth to hit our planet this year. 

The last space rock to make impact was in October over the Pacific Ocean, which followed others in September and January. 

Residents in the Olekminsky and Lensk districts 'observed a comet-like tail and flares,' sharing some of the first videos of the event.

The Main Directorate of the Ministry of Emergency Situations of Russia reported that it went on high alert after reports of the asteroid were released.

The agency reported the space rock didn't cause any damages or casualties, writing on Telegram: 'Fortunately, the asteroid passed over the atmosphere. 

'The safety of the population's life was not compromised.'

The NASA-funded Kitt Peak National Observatory, a project that tracks near-Earth objects, also spotted the asteroid early Tuesday. 

Richard Moissl, the head of planetary defense office with the ESA, said Kitt Peak's Aegis system had calculated the asteroid's 'impact corridor' and narrowed it down to 125 miles east of Lensk.

The Aegis system is used by the US Navy to identify air and surface threats through radar technology and computer programs and is 'the most capable multi-mission combat system deployed in the world today,' according to Lockheed Martin.

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Ahead of the asteroid's entrance, Alan Fitzsimmons at Queen's University Belfast in Ireland had explained to New Scientist that the asteroid wouldn't pose a risk to people on the ground.

'It's a small one, but it will still be quite spectacular,' Fitzsimmons said. 

'It will be dark over the impact site and for several hundreds of kilometers around there'll be a very impressive, very bright fireball in the sky.'

According to a 2017 study, only asteroids that span at least nearly 60 feet in diameter are potentially lethal if they head toward Earth.

The early sighting of the incoming asteroid was unique in that very few have been spotted before they entered Earth's atmosphere, but Fitzsimmons reported that it is a positive sign that astronomers were able to identify the asteroid so early.

'It's a win for science, and [for] anybody who happens to be in Siberia this evening,' Fitzsimmons told New Scientist, adding: 'There's something to take your mind away from the no doubt quite chilly temperatures.'

These asteroids are categorized as Near-Earth Objects (NEOs) because they come within 120 million miles of the Sun thanks to the gravitational pull of other nearby planets. 

As more asteroids are observed, the accuracy with which astronomers can predict where an object will be years or decades in the future improves dramatically.