According to information provided by scientists from the Center for Near-Earth Object Research, the asteroid does not pose a threat to the planet. Plus, this isn’t the first time this particular space rock has passed us at close range. Its orbit around the Sun lasts 272 days.
A large asteroid called 2021 CZ2 will approach Earth on the night of Tuesday to Wednesday at 00:30 Polish time. Even though the space rock is really large, its diameter varies from 100 to 200 meters, it does not pose a threat to our planet.
NASA is constantly keeping up with the times, monitoring all space objects potentially dangerous for our planet. These include celestial bodies that move in orbits that intersect the orbit of our planet or come dangerously close to Earth. These objects have a diameter of at least 150 meters and can approach at a distance of no more than 7.48 million kilometers.
Asteroids fly by Earth very often, but in most cases they are small enough to not pose a serious threat. Their diameter varies from several to several meters. However, it is rare for one of them to be on a collision course with our planet.
The asteroid expected to fly by Earth this week belongs to the Athena group of asteroids. These are objects that move mainly within Earth’s orbit, rotating around the Sun. It includes over 2,428 asteroids. Interestingly, in 2004 one of the Athena group asteroids caused quite a stir.
We are talking about (99942) Apophis, whose orbit seemed to lead to a collision course with Earth, and the impact would have occurred in 2029. However, a more in-depth analysis revealed that the probability of an impact was negligible.
According to NASA, the object does not pose a threat to our planet. During its closest approach it will be at a distance of about 370,000. kilometers, which is approximately the average distance between the Earth and the Moon, or 384 thousand. kilometres. Even if the distance is actually closer than initial estimates, the probability of an impact is still very low.
According to NASA, for the next 100 years the Earth will not be threatened by any cosmic object that we know of. However, the events in Chelyabinsk in 2013 showed that not all space rocks can be noticed in time.
***
Stay updated and become one of the 90,000. followers of our fanpage: like Geekweek on Facebook and comment on our articles there!
video
How do new technologies change the face of medicine? INTERIA.PL
2024-01-16 08:20:00
#Earth #close #encounter #asteroid #date #time