‘Mala-Kimi No Na Wa’: Asteroid brightens midnight sky over Northern Philippines

By
Jeline Malasig
-
September 5, 2024 - 2:37 PM
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Asteroid_2024 RW1
Screengrab from a video taken by Carl Maggay in Tuguegarao City; Screengrab from a video taken by City Tambayan at Ilagan City, Isabela, Cagayan Valley (Screenshots from DOST-PAGASA/Facebook via Interaksyon)

“Kimi No Na Wa vibes.”

Some Filipinos were treated to a dazzling display of the entrance of a roughly one-meter asteroid into the Earth’s atmosphere past midnight on Thursday, September 5.

Science organizations posted videos of Pinoys who witnessed a small asteroid, named 2024 RW1, temporarily lit up the evening sky over parts of Cagayan province hours after it was discovered by the Catalina Sky Survey.

The asteroid “burned up harmlessly in Earth’s atmosphere,” according to Space.com.

The European Space Agency said it was only the “ninth asteroid that humankind has ever spotted before impact.”

USA’s National Aeronautics and Space Administration had predicted that the impact could create a fireball visible from the east coast of the Philippines.

Minutes after midnight, some residents in Cagayan reported seeing a bright green fireball over the black sky as the asteroid entered the Earth’s atmosphere.

Some of them captured the one-off moment on their phones, which were shared by science organizations Earth Saker Philippines and ScienceKonek.

Angelo Simon from Ilagan City, Isabela shared a video taken at 12:39 a.m. on Thursday.

Jonathan Galamay from Tuguegarao City in Cagayan also captured the moment at 12:40 a.m. on the same day.

Angel Lazo-Cajucom from Tuguegarao City likewise recorded the event around 12:39 a.m.

Jomar Malubay of Luna, Apayao was able to capture a photo of the asteroid’s entry at 12:40 a.m.

Mikyla Zipagan Lumauig recorded another perspective from Tuguegarao City at the same time.

Valiant Aniñon from the town of Lal-lo in Cagayan also shared a clear shot of the asteroid “burning bright into a greenish ‘fireball'” over their area.

Karen Bea from Santa Ana, Cagayan also shared pictures and a clip of the phenomenon, saying it was “pretty.”

Facebook user Paul Chester Saycon also compiled clips of the asteroid witnessed by those in the Northern Philippines.

There were also Pinoys who witnessed the asteroid from Calabarzon. Among these was Zean Del Rosario, who shared a video taken from Laguna.

The phenomenon prompted some Filipinos to remember the popular Japanese animated film “Kimi No Na Wa” or “Your Name,” in which a dazzling comet appears in the sky and breaks into two.

The comet strike is also central to the story’s plot, which focuses on its impact on a rural town where the female protagonist lives.

“Your Name?” a Pinoy commented on a Facebook post about Asteroid 2024 RW1.

“Mala-Kimi No Na Wa,” another user wrote.

Others shared GIFs featuring the particular scene from the Japanese film.

Reports said the comet strike in the film was inspired by the Great Eastern Earthquake that struck Japan in 2011.

Meanwhile, experts said that two to three objects the size of Asteroid 2024 RW1 strike the Earth yearly.

Interaksyon

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