Asteroid 2023 CX1
The first predicted meteorite fall in Europe, seen from both sides of the Channel.
Key facts
- When
- 13 February 2023, 02.59 UTC
- Where
- Over the English Channel coast of Normandy, France
- What hit
- about 1 m across
- Era
- The sensor age, 2000 onwards
- Location
- 49.80° N, 0.90° E
A few tens of tonnes of TNT at most.
Tiny: a bright fireball, seen from England, France and beyond.
What happened
On the evening of 12 February 2023, the Hungarian astronomer Krisztián Sárneczky discovered a small asteroid about seven hours before it struck Earth. Astronomers quickly worked out that it would come down over northern France in the early hours of the next morning.
People in southern England and northern France watched for it, and many cameras filmed the fireball as it crossed the sky and broke apart over Normandy.
A meteorite was found two days later by a student taking part in an organised search, and more stones followed. The meteorite, named Saint-Pierre-le-Viger, is an ordinary chondrite of type L5–6.
Effects
None on the ground beyond the scattered stones.
The evidence
The telescope observations, which allowed the fall area to be predicted, videos from many cameras and the meteorites themselves.
Did you know?
2023 CX1 was only the seventh asteroid ever caught before impact.
Because it was so well predicted, searchers knew where to look before the stones had even landed.
Related pages
How is impact energy measured? See energy explained, or try the impact calculator.