In the late eventing of 20 January 2024, astronomer Krisztián Sárneczky detected an asteroid on an imminent collision course with Earth. Just hours later, it struck our planet’s atmosphere 50 km west of Berlin, producing this stunning fireball at 01:32 CET, Sunday 21 January. Later named 2024 BX1, this is just the eighth asteroid that humankind has spotted before impact.

Thanks to the rapid response and information sharing from Earth’s asteroid and fireball communities, including ESA’s Near-Earth Object Coordination Centre, many people were able to see and record this spectacular sight, despite it taking place with just hours’ notice and in the middle of the night. This video was captured by the AllSky7 network.