The small 1m asteroid, currently designated as Sar2667, created a shooting star and an 'airburst' when it exploded.
It was visible from across most of southern England and Wales - and as far south as Paris, France.
American Physicist and airburst specialist Mark Boslough from the Los Alamos National Laboratory told Wales Online that while "airbursts of this size happen somewhere several times per year" they are "rarely discovered in advance."
He said this was only the seventh time in history one had been discovered in advance, Mirror reported.
MP/PR