In just a few hours, a recently discovered asteroid will approach Earth’s atmosphere, NASA said. Later on Wednesday, the space rock known as COWECP5 will cross eastern Russia after being spotted by the space agency’s detection systems.

Scientists have confirmed that the tiny asteroid, which is just 27 inches in diameter, will burn up safely in Earth’s atmosphere, but they have reassured the public that it poses no threat.

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Two asteroid flybys are expected this week, this being the first.

The European Space Agency warned that the 27-inch asteroid would produce a visible fireball in the sky but that the impact would be “harmless.” The alert was sent at 4:27 a.m. ET.

The asteroid, tentatively named C0WEPC5, has hit Earth, making it the 11th asteroid impact ever recorded and the fourth this year.

The hits, known as “imminent impactors,” are detected by the Kitt Peak National Observatory in Arizona, which spotted the fast asteroid before its arrival.

Over Yakutia in northern Siberia, the space rock hit Earth’s atmosphere around 11:15 a.m. ET, creating a huge fireball that locals saw, the agency said.

In a video shared on social media on Tuesday, the bright and fast fireball can be seen shooting through the sky before fading in.

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How much, if any, of the asteroid debris fell to Earth is still unclear.

According to Richard Moissl, head of the European Space Agency’s Planetary Defense Division, people within a few hundred kilometers of the entry site will witness a breathtaking spectacle.

“It will be dark over the impact site and there will be a very impressive, very bright fireball in the sky for several hundred kilometers,” said Alan Fitzsimmons from Queen’s University Belfast.

In an interview with New Scientist, Professor Fitzsimmons reassured the audience that the asteroid was safe, saying: “It may be small, but it’s still pretty spectacular.”

Victory for science

Fitzsimmons continued: “It’s a win for science and (for) anyone who happens to be in Siberia this evening,” adding that it would be a pleasant change from “what will undoubtedly be quite cool temperatures.”

Since the asteroid would burn completely upon entry, scientists have determined that evacuations are not necessary.

NASA’s Asteroid Terrestrial-Impact Last Alert System (Atlas), designed to provide up to a week’s advance notice of incoming space rocks, was the first to discover the asteroid.

In this case, however, Atlas discovered COWECP5 only seven hours before the expected impact.

According to the organization, there have been up to 36,000 asteroid flybys in total.

According to NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory, 2020

2020 .

The giant asteroid poses no threat and is unlikely to have any impact, but NASA calls any object that comes within 4.6 million miles of Earth “potentially dangerous.”