The European Space Agency said that the asteroid, which was about 27.5 inches wide, was seen burning up across the sky on Dec. 3

C0WEPC5, as the asteroid has been temporarily named, entered Earth's atmosphere at 1:15 a.m. local time on Dec. 4 over Russia's remote Sakha Republic, also known as Yakutia, in northeastern Siberia. Local officials were placed on alert, the Sakha emergencies ministry noted, but no damage was reported during the event.

An asteroid streaked past northern Siberia in the middle of the night Tuesday before burning up in Earth’s atmosphere, lighting up the skies with a blinding flash, dramatic video shows. The relatively diminutive asteroid measured just 27 inches wide — about the diameter of a bicycle tire — and posed no danger to Earth,