An asteroid twice the size of the Empire State Building will fly past Earth tonight, according to NASA, but will not get close enough to cause problems.
The space rock, called 418135 (2008 AG33), will come about two million miles from the planet, which is approximately eight times farther from Earth than the Moon.
As it enters Earth’s orbit and reaches its nearest point, the asteroid will move at a speed of 23,300 miles per hour, or about 30 times the speed of sound.
Up to 2,560 feet in diameter, the rock has been named by NASA as potentially dangerous, reaching its close approach at 10:46 p.m. ET tonight.
An asteroid twice the size of the Empire State Building will fly past Earth tonight, according to NASA, but will not get close enough to cause problems. Stock image
While two million miles may sound like a huge distance, on a cosmic scale it is extremely close, well within Earth’s orbit.
For this reason, NASA considers any asteroid that comes so close to be potentially dangerous – a type of object close to Earth that could pose a risk to life on Earth.
NASA considers any object within 120 million miles of the planet to be an object close to Earth (NEO), and each object within 4.65 million miles to be “potentially dangerous.”
These rocks are being closely observed by astronomers and planetary defense experts, as any small deviation in their orbit could put them in a course of collision with Earth.
The space rock, called 418135 (2008 AG33), will come about two million miles from the planet, which is approximately eight times farther from Earth than the Moon. Stock image
Asteroid 418135 (2008 AG33) is not new, it was first discovered in January 2008 by astronomers at Mt Lemmon SkyCenter in Arizona and last made a “close approach” to Earth in March 2015 – flying every seven years.
The next close flight is not expected to happen until May 2029, according to NASA, unless something works to shift its orbit – but this is unlikely.
Explained: The difference between an asteroid, a meteorite and other cosmic rocks
The asteroid is a large rock left over from collisions or the early solar system. Most are located between Mars and Jupiter in the Main Belt.
The comet is a rock covered with ice, methane and other compounds. Their orbits take them far away from the solar system.
A meteor is what astronomers call a flash of light in the atmosphere when debris burns.
The debris itself is known as a meteoroid. Most are so small that they evaporate into the atmosphere.
If any of this meteorite reaches Earth, it is called a meteorite.
Meteors, meteoroids and meteorites usually originate from asteroids and comets.
For example, if the Earth passes through the comet’s tail, most of the debris burns in the atmosphere, forming a meteor shower.
This is not the only close approach in the coming weeks, but it is the largest target to be undertaken within a few million miles of the planet.
An asteroid called 2022 HX1 is scheduled to arrive 1.5 million miles from Earth on April 30, but is only 82 feet in diameter.
Although this is still larger than the meteorite in Chelyabinsk, which exploded over Russia in 2013, producing a shock wave powerful enough to orbit the globe twice.
Asteroid 2008 AG33 is not the largest to approach Earth in the next few weeks – this title will go to 467,460 (2006 JF42), discovered in 2006, and is estimated at up to 2,820 feet in diameter. Although it will be 3.5 million miles from Earth.
NASA, ESA, China and others are working on planetary protection solutions that are designed to prevent most asteroids from reaching Earth if they are on a direct course.
The Asteroid Dual Redirection Test (DART) is a NASA space mission aimed at testing a planetary defense method against near-Earth objects – crashing into an asteroid to see if the method can be used to slightly shift its orbit. . It will appear in September.
China has also confirmed that it aims to smash a spacecraft into an asteroid as part of plans for a planetary defense system.
The destination for the mission has not yet been chosen, but Wu Yanhua said CNSA plans to target a potentially dangerous asteroid, an object that has a chance, even a small one, of colliding with our planet sometime in the future.
Other agencies, including the US space force, are working on better tracking to monitor more than 600,000 known asteroids, 20,000 NEOs and countless undiscovered space rocks – the biggest threat.
Asteroid 2008 AG33 will make its closest approach, about two million miles from Earth, shortly after 22:45 tonight, although with an absolute value of 19.41, it will be visible only from the largest telescopes, quite beyond the reach of the naked eye.
Astronomers are looking for asteroids larger than 450 feet, as they can cause “catastrophic damage”
Researchers have found most of the asteroids, which are about a kilometer in size, but are now hunting for those about 459 feet (140 meters) – as they can cause catastrophic damage.
Although no one knows when the next major impact will occur, scientists have been under pressure to predict – and cut off – its arrival.
The impression of the artist is in the photo
“Sooner or later we will have … little or no impact,” said Rolf Danzing, head of the European Space Operations Center (ESOC) in Darmstadt.
This may not happen in our lifetime, he said, but “the risk of the Earth being affected by a devastating event one day is very high.”
“So far we can do little.”
Source: AFP
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