An asteroid that has been tracked by an international alliance of astronomers was recovered after it fell on Earth according to a report by the journal Nature.

The asteroid, about 50 parts of it, were found and collected by astronomers who took advantage of the unique opportunity. The debris resulted from the asteroid will be very useful. Scientists will use it to better understand asteroids and how to tackle larger ones in case they are on a collision course with our planet.

The asteroid was first detected by astronomers in Arizona in October, 2008. The asteroid called 2008 TC3 was the size of a car. After the Arizona astronomers announced what they had detected, telescopes all around the world tracked it and followed it until it exploded and disintegrated 23 miles over the Nubian desert of northern Sudan. Although it was the size of a car, the 2008 TC3 weighed a lot more, almost 70 tons.

A team of scientists from the Seti Institute in California travelled to Sudan and collected 47 pieces resulted from the exploded asteroid.  It exploded because it was made out of a fragile material that caused the asteroid to blow up before it slowed down significantly.

This asteroid is something completely new for astronomers, “a completely new material,” said Peter Jenniskens, author of the report and a scientist at the Seti Institute in California.

However, an asteroid burning and exploding after entering Earth’s atmosphere is not something new to astronomers. "It's been happening for years," said Douglas Rumble of the Carnegie Institution, a co-author of the report.