Asteroid 2026 RW1 impacts Earth over Indian Ocean about 7 hours after discovery, becomes 13th known asteroid detected before impact

Asteroid 2026 RW1 - 13th predicted Earth impactor - orbital diagram. Credit: ESA/CNEOS Asteroid 2026 RW1 struck Earth over the Indian Ocean northwest of Australia on September 6, just over 7 hours after it was discovered, becoming the 13th known asteroid detected before hitting Earth. This event added another real-world test of planetary defense systems designed to identify small incoming objects, rapidly refine their trajectories, and determine where and when they will enter the atmosphere. ESA tracked the asteroid under the temporary identifier CERNQ52 using its Meerkat system and estimated its diameter at only 0.6–1.3 m (2–4.3 feet). Objects of this size are difficult to detect far in advance because they are intrinsically faint, often becoming observable only when they are already relatively close to Earth. As new observations were added, ESA classified 2026 RW1 as a confirmed impactor and determined the median impact position near 13.77°S, 116.43°E, over the Indian Ocean northwest of Australia. Meerkat is designed to assess newly detected objects when only a short observational arc is available. It tests a range of possible trajectories and narrows the solution as additional astrometric measurements arrive. https://twitter. com/Richard_M_F/status/2096567672020287758? s=20 The Minor Planet Center’s (MPC) orbital solution classifies the asteroid as an Aten near-Earth object, with an absolute magnitude of H 33.26, an orbital inclination of 1.43402°, and a semimajor axis of 0.9447379 AU, approximately 141.3 million km (87.8 million miles). The object burned out in the atmosphere, and judging , there’s almost no chance of meteorite recovery. This is now the 13th predicted Earth impactor, following 2026 JN4 in May — the first such detection in almost 1.5 years. JN4 reached Earth a little more than three hours after discovery. In comparison, 2026 RW1 was tracked for approximately 7 hours 22 minutes between its first reported observation and nominal impact. Predicted Earth impactors Updated at UTC on September 7, 2026Object / TypeDiscovery date (UTC)Impact date (UTC)Impact locationDimensions (~)Energy released (kt)Notes2008 TC3 (Apollo)October 6, 2008 at 06:39October 7, 2008 at 02:46Nubian desert, Sudan4 m (13.1 feet)0.781600 meteorites found. Total weight 11 kg.2014 AA (Apollo)January 1, 2014 at 06:18January 2, 2014 at 03:06Atlantic Ocean3 m (9.8 feet)0.282Impact velocity 11.77 km/s2018 LA (Apollo)June 2, 2018 at 08:22June 2, 2018 at 16:44Botswana/South Africa3 m (9.8 feet)1.03At least 24 meteorites found. Howardite-Eucrite-Diogenite (HED) type material2019 MO (Apollo)June 22, 2019 at 07:24June 22, 2019 at 21:25Puerto Rico5 m (16.4 feet)4.46Possibly Alinda asteroid. NEXRAD weather radar detected falling meteorites over water.2022 EB5 (Apollo)March 11, 2022 at 19:24March 11, 2022 at 21:22Jan Mayen Island, Norway1 m (6.4 feet)0.398Impact velocity 18.55 km/s2022 WJ1 (Apollo)November 19, 2022 at 04:53November 19, 2022 at 08:27Ontario, Canada1 m (3.2 feet)0.0106Most meteorites fell in water.2023 CX1 (Apollo)February 12, 2023 at 20:18February 13, 2023 at 02:59Normandy, France1 m (3.2 feet)0.0403Over 22 meteorites.2024 BX1 (Apollo)January 20, 2024 at 20:48January 21, 2024 at 00:33Berlin, Germany 0.7 - 1.6 m (2.23 - 5.2 feet) / ~140 kg0.0405About 200 meteorites.