Asteroid warning issued as rock due to hit Earth's atmosphere in just hours - but Nasa says it 'poses no threat to humans'

NASA has announced that a newly found asteroid is expected to enter Earth’s atmosphere in only a few hours.

The asteroid, referred to as COWECP5, was detected by the space agency's monitoring systems and is expected to reach eastern Russia later today.

However, astronomers have reassured everyone that there is no danger. They have verified that the small asteroid, which is only 27 inches wide, will safely disintegrate in Earth's atmosphere.

This event is significant as it's the twelfth occasion that astronomers have managed to spot an asteroid before it hit our planet, and it's the fourth time this has happened this year alone.

The asteroid is anticipated to make its way into Earth's atmosphere on Tuesday afternoon.

Professor Fitzsimmons stated that there will be a strikingly bright fireball visible in the sky for many hundreds of kilometers around.

"It's a victory for science, and for anyone in Siberia tonight," Fitzsimmons mentioned, pointing out that it will offer a nice break from the likely freezing temperatures.

Researchers have assured that there is no reason for evacuations, as the asteroid will disintegrate entirely upon entering the atmosphere.

The asteroid was first detected by NASA's Asteroid Terrestrial-impact Last Alert System (Atlas), which is set up to give us up to a week's notice about incoming asteroids.

In this instance, Atlas identified COWECP5 only seven hours prior to when it was expected to make contact.

The Kitt Peak National Observatory, supported by NASA, also verified the asteroid's path as it moved over eastern Russia early on Tuesday.

NASA has stated that the asteroid 'doesn't pose any danger.'

The Atlas system uses four telescopes located in different parts of the world to monitor possible dangers.

Although Kitt Peak's Aegis system is mainly a military technology designed to detect aerial and ground threats using radar, it is also employed to determine the trajectory of asteroids.

A study from 2017 found that only asteroids that are 60 feet wide or larger could pose a serious danger to our planet.

Space rocks that venture within 120 million miles of the Sun are known as Near-Earth Objects (NEOs). Their paths are affected by the gravity of nearby planets.