Suspected asteroid hits southwest China

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An asteroid has reportedly hit the ground near southwest China’s Yunnan Province Wednesday night, according to NASA.

The impact happened 40 kilometers northwest of Shangri-La County at 8:07:05 p.m. BJT and led to an explosion equivalent to 540 tons of TNT, slightly stronger than that of the Xilingol League event in 2014, which was 450 tons.

Since it blasted at a height of about 37 kilometers, a relatively low height, it was possible that the asteroid’s debris fell to the ground before it burnt to ashes.

The speed of the asteroid was approximately 14,600 meters per second.

The asteroid sighting occurred on China's Mid-Autumn Festival. As part of the tradition, people joined their family and friends at night to admire the full moon. Locals in Dali, a city in Yunnan Province, said they were not able to see the moon due to the cloudy weather. Instead, locals in Dali, Lijiang, Nujiang and Shangri-La reported seeing a fireball gliding across the sky.

Videos of the event have been shared extensively on China's social media platforms including WeChat and Weibo.