Sightings2008

Asteroid 2008 TC3 predicted, then seen exploding over Sudan

When: 7 Oct 2008
Where: Nubian Desert, Sudan
Sources: 2 public sources

A fragment of asteroid 2008 TC3 recovered in the Nubian Desert of Sudan Peter Jenniskens, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons

Asteroid 2008 TC3 was found on Oct. 6, 2008 and predicted to hit within hours; it exploded over northern Sudan as forecast. A KLM crew over Chad saw the flash, satellites recorded it, and meteorites were later recovered from the desert, the first impact predicted in advance.

Sources

OfficialAsteroid 2008 TC3 Strikes Earth: Predictions and Observations Agree (opens in a new tab)NASA JPL Center for Near Earth Object Studies / 2008
OtherThe impact and recovery of asteroid 2008 TC3 (Jenniskens et al.) (opens in a new tab)Nature / 2009-03-26

How sources are chosen and tiered

Where it fits

Earlier in SightingsMUFON releases radar analysis of the Stephenville sightingsJul 2008 Later in SightingsBuzzard Coulee fireball over Saskatchewan and Alberta20 Nov 2008

See it on the timeline More in Sightings