Asteroid that hit Botswana in 2018 may have its origin dated back to 22 million years ago

In 2018, asteroid debris had mysteriously impacted Botswana, Southern Africa. Today, scientists have finally provided a conclusion over what rock did the debris belong to and how it came in contact with Earth. Apparently, tracing its origin was a challenge as the observations picked up only shortly before the debris had contacted Earth. Hence, scientists had to dig down video footage and examine the rock samples, basically take the harder route to finally come to a conclusion. But what is truly surprising is that the debris was found to be originating from an asteroid that astronomers have been monitoring for a while now.

2018 Asteroid Origin Found

Once the sample of the rock was found on the surface of the Earth, a number of conclusive research commenced. With the sample alone, scientists could figure out the age of the rock as well as its possible origins. Simultaneously, scientists had referred to video footage that had captured the 2018LA’s conclusive moments as well, right from when the asteroid had turned to flames, to how it changed into a massive fireball before diminishing. 2018LA illuminated the sky and later disintegrated at about 60,000 kmph above the Kalahari Desert in Botswana on June 2, 2018.

After having successfully traced its origin, researchers began to store all their findings in a paper called Meteoritics and Planetary Science that was finally published on April 23, 2021. According to the research paper, the 2018 asteroid debris belongs to one of the largest objects in our solar system i.e. Vesta. Vesta is known to be the second-largest space rock in the asteroid belt, boasting a mean diameter of 525 kilometres.

Although its history isn't specified in the research paper, it is believed that the 2018 asteroid was born after Vesta collided with another body in space roughly 22 million years ago, resulting in the formation of a larger family of debris, some of which found their way to Earth. Finding the origin of the 2018 asteroid after the rock has already hit the Earth is truly a commendable feat as it proves how far the field of science has grown. The discovery of this asteroid would further help astronomers enhance their understanding and knowledge about other Earth-threatening objects' origin and open up new avenues of research in this field.

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