CNN Indonesia
Wednesday, January 3, 2024 5:42 pm IWST
Illustration. NASA responds to rumors that an asteroid would hit Earth this year. (iStockphoto/Elenarts)
Jakarta, CNN Indonesia —
United States Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) reveals the facts about the rumors asteroid The giant will hit Earth in October 2024.
Previously, there were many rumors that a giant asteroid, almost as large as the Eiffel Tower, would hit the Earth in October 2024. This asteroid, called 2007 FT3, was said to release 2.6 billion tons of TNT energy if had hit the Earth.
Asteroid 2007 FT3 is a real asteroid first discovered in 2007. This asteroid is also called a lost asteroid because it was only visible for 1.2 days, before finally disappearing from NASA observations.
For information, asteroid 2007 FT3 is 314 meters long, almost as long as the Eiffel Tower which is 330 meters tall.
Even though it was only visible for a short time, NASA was still able to observe and calculate the orbit and potential impact point of this asteroid.
Thus, NASA’s Center for Near Earth Object Studies (JPL) has identified 89 potential impacts, including one on October 5, 2024.
Although it seems worrying, there is actually nothing to worry about. The reason is that a potential impact point, or the point where the asteroid is expected to be closest to Earth, occurred in 2019. However, the impact did not occur.
Quoted from IFL ScienceNASA and other observatories track the orbits of objects found in the Solar System, with particular attention to near-Earth objects (NEOs) 140 meters (460 feet) or larger that could cause destruction if they collided with Earth.
So far, astronomers can predict the orbits of known objects up to 100 years into the future.
The good news is that NASA says “no asteroid larger than 140 meters has a significant chance of hitting Earth in the next 100 years.”
Regarding the rumors about asteroid 2007 FT3, NASA has said that there is no threat of an impact for the next century.
“There is no known threat of an asteroid impact hitting Earth in the next century. NASA and its partners diligently scan the sky to find, track and classify asteroids and near-Earth objects (NEOs), including those that they could get closer to Earth,” a NASA spokesperson said.
“The important note here is that planetary scientists define an approach with an asteroid within 30 million miles of Earth’s orbit as a significant approach.”
NASA said large objects are easy to detect and anticipate.
“The larger an asteroid is, the easier it will be for planetary defense experts to find it, meaning its orbit around the Sun is usually well known and understood for years or even decades,” NASA added.
(team/arh)
2024-01-03 10:42:06
#NASA #responds #rumors #Eiffel #Towersized #asteroid #hitting #Earth #October