26 April 2021
Fragment of asteroid 2018 LA recovered in Central Kalahari Game Reserve in central Botswana.
(Image credit: SETI Institute)
A small asteroid barreled through the sky and burned up over the Kalahari Desert of Botswana in the summer of 2018 and now, scientists suspect that the space rock originated from Vesta, the second largest asteroid in the
The small
asteroid, named 2018 LA, was first observed through a telescope at the University of Arizona s Catalina Sky Survey and looked like a speck of light whizzing through the stars, This is only the second time we have spotted an asteroid in space before it hit
While scientists have managed to recover and examine thousands of meteorites, finding their origin or even whether they are from icy comets or rocky asteroids has proved elusive. Now, for the first time, a team of international researchers has traced the source of a boulder-sized rock that landed in Botswana to an asteroid named Vesta. Boasting a diameter of about 300 miles, it is one of the largest and brightest rocks in the asteroid belt that circles the sun between Jupiter and Mars.
Once upon a time a small asteroid broke off of its parent space rock – and smashed into Earth 23 million years later as. Now, scientists know where it originated - from Vesta, the second-largest asteroid in our solar system.
April 30, 2021
In 2018, a small asteroid crashed into Earth, and scientists recovered pieces of it in a Botswana game reserve. Now the scientists have determined the space rock’s origin: Vesta, in the asteroid belt.
Shown here is the team that found the first meteorite from the breakup of asteroid 2018 LA in Botswana. They point to the space rock found there, later named Motopi Pan. Image via Meteoritics and Planetary Science/ Peter Jenniskens.
In 2018, an international team of scientists tracked a small asteroid as it streaked toward Earth and crashed into southern Africa. The team was able to find and collect pieces of the asteroid that were scattered across a Botswana game reserve. Now, the scientists believe they know the source of that asteroid. They say the space rock came from Vesta, the brightest and second-most massive object in the asteroid belt, a region of our solar system between Jupiter and Mars occupied by a great many solid, irregularly-shaped bodies of many si
An asteroid traveled for 23 million years before crashing into Earth and now scientists know where it came from By Sophie Lewis NASA attempts historic touchdown on asteroid
A small asteroid crashed into Earth three years ago and now scientists know where it came from. Researchers have traced the origins of the resulting rare meteorite fragments, which began the journey to Earth some 23 million years ago.
The asteroid, called 2018 LA, shot across the sky like a fireball before landing in Botswana on June 2, 2018. Researchers subsequently recovered 23 meteorites from the Central Kalahari Game Reserve, a huge area known for its diverse wildlife.