Artist’s concept of an asteroid near Earth. Experts said that a small asteroid impact will occur over the Indian Ocean near Australia today, September 6, 2026, at 16:07 UTC. The object should harmlessly impact Earth’s atmosphere near northwest Australia and create a bright meteor. Image via Batman111/ Pixabay. Small asteroid impact today near Australia The Mount Lemmon Observatory, as part of the Catalina Sky Survey, has detected a new asteroid, about 1 meter wide (about 3 feet wide), heading toward Earth. The impact should occur in Earth’s atmosphere near northwest Australia at 16:07 UTC (11:07 am CDT). At that time near Australia the sky should be dark, so people in the area could see a bright flash of the incoming meteor. Currently, the asteroid is named CERNQ52. This is the 13th time we have discovered an asteroid before impact. Richard Moissl, head of planetary defense at ESA, wrote on social media: INCOMING! Our systems have calculated an atmospheric entry in the period between 16:00 and 16:30 UTC of a harmless object discovered by the Mount Lemmon survey with a diameter of ~0.8 m northwest of Australia over the ocean. The impact is likely to cause a bright meteor. Adrien Coffinet, member of the Minor Planets Mailing List, wrote: If I’m not mistaken, this will be the first Aten asteroid (1 AU) detected in space before impact. All previous impactors detected in space before impact were Apollo asteroids (at > 1 AU). Ten asteroids are those that have an orbit within the Earth, that is, less than 1 astronomical unit (AU). Apollo asteroids are those that are on average farther from the sun than Earth. This map shows where the small meteor will impact near northwest Australia. Image via Richard Moissl/ NEO ESA. Report the meteor if you see it If you live in the area and see the bright meteor flash from the asteroid impact, you can report it to the International Meteor Organization. And if you capture an image, share it with us on EarthSky Community Photos. ? ASTEROID ATMOSPHERIC ENTRY ALERT: A newly discovered (08h45min UT, September 6) small (~0.8m diameter) asteroid (CERNQ52) is on a trajectory that will direct it toward Earth’s atmosphere over the Indian Ocean today (September 6) around 16h35min UT. Stay tuned for more updates! — International Meteor Organization (@imometeors.bsky.social) 2026-09-06T10:45:09.571Z Bottom line: a small asteroid impact will occur in the next few hours near northwest Australia. The meteor should burn harmlessly in Earth’s atmosphere and pose no danger. Read more: How big are asteroids? Compare sizes in this video Kelly Kizer Whitt See articles about the author: Kelly Kizer Whitt writes and edits some of the most fascinating stories on EarthSky.org. He has been writing about science for decades, focusing on astronomy. He began his career at Astronomy magazine and made regular contributions to other media, including AstronomyToday and the Sierra Club. He has nine books published, including a children’s picture book, Solar System Forecast, and a dystopian young adult novel, A Different Sky.
