NASA warned that an asteroid over half as big as the Statue of Liberty is in danger of colliding with Earth a couple of years from now. Given the asteroid's size and speed, Earth's atmosphere will probably not be able to stop the space rock from causing an impact event.
The dangerous asteroid has been identified as 2005 ED224 . It has been listed in Sentry 's database, which is NASA's impact monitoring system. Through this system, NASA is able to keep track of all known asteroids that have chances of hitting Earth in the future.
Not to change the topic here:
NASA Warns 256-Foot Asteroid Headed Towards Earth At 56,232 Kph Before Christmas
NASA's asteroid monitoring system has spotted an approaching asteroid that follows an Earth-crossing orbit. According to the agency's Center for Near-Earth Object Studies (CNEOS), the asteroid is expected to approach Earth before Christmas.
The incoming asteroid has been identified as 2017 XQ60 . As indicated in CNEOS's database, this asteroid is currently flying towards Earth at an impressive speed of over 56,000 kilometers per hour. The agency estimated that the asteroid has a diameter of 256 feet, making it slightly longer than the wingspan of a Boeing 747 airplane.
Impact Crater Data Analysis of Ryugu Asteroid Illuminates Complicated Geological History -
Size and location of craters on Ryugu (Figure from the Journal paper): The craters are numbered in order of size. CREDIT Kobe University
Analysis of the impact craters on Ryugu using the spacecraft Hayabusa 2's remote sensing image data has illuminated the geological history of the Near-Earth asteroid.
A research group led by Assistant Professor Naoyuki Hirata of the Department of Planetology at Kobe University's Graduate School of Science revealed 77 craters on Ryugu. Through analyzing the location patterns and characteristics of the craters, they determined that the asteroid's eastern and western hemispheres were formed at different periods of time.
Asteroids v Eiffel Tower?
The EU granted the ESA its largest funding boost in 25 years to fund the Hera mission, which is planned to be mankind’s first mission to a binary asteroid system (with Japan already having studied the single asteroid Ryugu ).
Two-asteroid binary systems make up roughly 15 percent of all asteroids, so if we are to adequately prepare our planetary defenses, we’ll need to be prepared to tackle them in an emergency. To put things into even more perspective, the ESA shared a remarkable image showing the scale of the threat posed by such binary asteroids.
Not to change the topic here:
Massive Asteroid Impacts Triggered Early Plate Tectonics, Study Suggests | Geology, Geoscience |
When and how the Earth evolved from a molten mass into a rocky planetary body continually resurfaced by plate tectonics remain some of the biggest questions in earth sciences. According to new research by scientists from Macquarie University, Southwest Research Institute and Harvard University, this transition may have been triggered by intense extraterrestrial bombardment.
An artist's concept of meteors impacting the ancient Earth. Image credit: NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center Conceptual Image Lab.
CU Boulder scientist honored with asteroid named for him – Broomfield Enterprise
The International Astronomical Union recently announced that it would honor Sánchez by renaming asteroid 2000 VH57 in his honor.
Now named Paulsánchez, the binary system is a pair of asteroids orbiting each other in the asteroid belt.
Sánchez, a senior research associate at the Colorado Center for Astrodynamics Research within the Ann and H.J. Smead Department of Aerospace Engineering Sciences at CU Boulder, did not have a background in astrodynamics before coming to the university 10 years ago. But he combined his expertise in granular dynamics and quantum chemistry to dive into asteroid science.
Meet Hygiea, the Smallest Dwarf Planet in Our Solar System
No comments:
Post a Comment