The massive space rock, which is known as 310442 (2000 CH59), will be closest to our planet on December 26 at 2:54 a.m. EST, according to NASA.
The space agency's Center for Near Earth Object Studies (CNEOS) estimates its diameter will be in the range of 919 to 2,034 feet. At the higher end, that means it could be as large as One World Trade Center in New York City, which tops out at 1,792 feet, including the tip.
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Next task for NASA's OSIRIS-REx spacecraft: Kiss an asteroid and avoid Mount Doom -
SAN FRANCISCO - Plunge perilously into an alien crater. Ever-so-gently touch the asteroid's rocky surface. Suck up a few handfuls of pebbles and dust. Navigate out of the crater, avoiding the jagged rock walls and a boulder called "Mount Doom." Then fly back home to Earth.
This is the tricky task NASA has set for OSIRIS-REx, a small spacecraft on a multiyear quest to collect fragments of an asteroid. It will push the limits of the SUV-size probe, which has already set multiple solar system records for its ambitious orbits. And it will test scientists' abilities to coordinate complex space maneuvers from more than a million miles away.
Asteroid collisions trigger cascading formation of subfamilies, study concludes
Scientists have always thought about fission clusters as entirely distinct from collisional families. Now, however, a study conducted by researchers affiliated with São Paulo State University (UNESP) at Guaratinguetá, under the aegis of a project supported by São Paulo Research Foundation—FAPESP, has shown that fission clusters may originate from collisional families in some cases.
Researchers at the National Space Research Institute (INPE) and the Federal University of São Paulo (UNIFESP) in Brazil, as well as the University of Côte d'Azur in France, also took part in the study, which is published in the journal Nature Astronomy .
Vladimir Putin to save Earth: Russia to track Earth-threatening asteroids from the moon | Science
The Russian space agency Roscosmos will install a nuclear-powered observatory on the far side of the moon, which will be ran by robots. The base will work in conjunction with asteroid-hunting telescopes to provide a detailed survey of potentially hazardous space rocks. Alexander Bloshenko, Roscosmos’ Executive Director for Science and Long-Term Programs, announced the decision, stating the base will be built on the lunar satellite’s southern pole.
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Now that's an active asteroid | Cosmos
View of Bennu ejecting particles from its surface on 6 Jan 2019, created by combining two images taken by the navigation camera onboard OSIRIS-REx.
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Scientists poring over data from NASA's OSIRIS-REx mission are trying to figure out why the near-Earth asteroid Bennu is periodically ejecting rocks the size of ping-pong balls.
The find came "sort of by accident," says Harold Connolly Jr, a cosmochemist and meteoriticist at Rowan University, US, when another member of the OSRIRIS-REx team noticed "stars" in the spacecraft's navigation camera, in places where stars aren't supposed to exist.
A Strange Asteroid Is Shooting Particles Into Space And We Just Got The Best Data Yet
NASA's OSIRIS-REx spacecraft arrived at asteroid Bennu in December 2018, and just one week later, it discovered something unusual about Bennu: the asteroid was ejecting particles into space.
The spacecraft's navigation camera first spotted the particles, but scientists initially thought they were just stars in the background. After closer scrutiny, the OSIRIS-REx team realized they were particles of rock, and were concerned that they might pose a hazard.
Dinosaurs may have been poisoned before getting blasted with asteroid - CNET
While human-generated sources of mercury include coal-fired power plants and gold mines, the largest natural sources of mercury entering the atmosphere are volcanoes, which were the University of Michigan researchers' focus. Massive volcanic eruptions in India -- known as the Deccan Traps eruptions, which lasted for nearly a million years -- contributed to both rapid ocean warming and elevated toxic mercury levels around the world during the time of the dinosaurs.
"For the first time, we can provide insights into the distinct climatic and environmental impacts of Deccan Traps volcanism by analyzing a single material," the study's lead author, Kyle Meyer, said in a release .
Planetary Society Awards Nearly $58,000 to Amateur Asteroid Hunters
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