Astronomers have named the rocky asteroid 2020 DE3 after its date of discovery on February 24 this year.
According to NASA, these objects frequently visit our planet and will sometimes strike with brute force.
The US space agency said: “Some asteroids and comets follow orbital paths that take them much closer to the Sun and therefore Earth – than usual.
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“If a comet or asteroid's approach brings it to within 1.3 astronomical units of the Sun, we call it a near-Earth object.
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Astronomers discover asteroid, 'mini-moon,' orbiting Earth
After billions of years, it looks like the moon found some temporary company in the form of a "mini-moon" that recently entered the Earth's orbit.
The discovery was made the night of Feb. 15 by Senior Research Specialist Kacper Wierzchos and Research Specialist Theodore Pruyne, both with the Catalina Sky Survey at the University of Arizona College of Science.
Wierzchos tweeted enthusiastically Tuesday that the "mini-moon" is called 2020 CD3 and out of the nearly 1 million known asteroids, it's the second known asteroid in history to orbit Earth. The first was called 2006 RH120 and was also discovered by the Catalina Sky Survey.
What if a big asteroid hit New York City?
A large asteroid hitting Earth wiped out the dinosaurs millions of years ago. (Advance Local archive)
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MetaBall Studios is here to help. The 3-D animation company put up on YouTube this week an eye-opening video that compares the size of a few local asteroids to New York City.
Let's just say we really hope 323 Brucia never hits Earth. The mammoth asteroid, discovered in 1891, would make quite a mess of America's largest metropolis. And it's not even one of the largest ones out there.
Asteroid alert: NASA tracks a 656FT rock heading towards Earth this week - Will it hit?
During the approach, BK509 will be flying our way at speeds of about 12.49km per second or 27,939mph (44,964kmh).
At this rate, the space rock will close-in on Earth around 12.29am GMT on Saturday (7.29pm EST on Friday).
The approach is being tracked by NASA’s Center for Near Earth Object Studies (CNEOS) in Pasadena, California.
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The speedy asteroid belongs to a family of objects formally classified as near-Earth objects or NEOs.
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An iron-clad asteroid
This discovery is exciting not only because the tiny iron 'whiskers'—which have since been shown on other particles from the asteroid as well—had previously been missed. Of particular interest is how they were formed. "These structures are the consequence of cosmic influences on the surface of the asteroid," explains Falko Langenhorst. In addition to rocks, high-energy particles from the solar wind also strike the asteroid's surface, thus weathering it.
To this end, the researchers already have specific asteroids in their sights. NASA's OSIRIS-REx probe is currently preparing to take samples from asteroid Bennu, while JAXA's Hayabusa2 is already on its way back to Earth. The Japanese probe visited the Ryugu asteroid last year and, as with Itokawa, it collected dust particles. The samples should land on Earth at the end of 2020 and the international team of Jena mineralogists and Toru Matsumoto are awaiting them with anticipation.
Asteroid warning: Major asteroid collision could be CATASTROPHIC - NASA warning | Science | News
The asteroid which wiped out the dinosaurs around 66 million years ago was believed to be up to 10 miles wide.
While asteroids of that size hitting Earth are extremely rare, another major collision is inevitable.
ATLAS stated on its website: “The risk of a house fire is small but the investment in fire insurance to protect your house (and that of your neighbour) is also small. Simply stated, if your house burns down it can be dangerous, even deadly.
Asteroid impact enriches certain elements in seawater -- ScienceDaily
In a study published in the Geological Society of America Bulletin , the researchers analyzed the concentrations of certain elements within the KPg boundary clays -- such as copper, silver, and lead -- to determine which processes led to the element enrichment after the end-Cretaceous asteroid impact. Two enriched components were found in the boundary layer, each with distinctly different compositions of elements.
"Since the enrichments of elements in these two components of the boundary clay were accompanied by enrichments of iridium," says first author Professor Teruyuki Maruoka, "both two components might have been induced by processes related to the asteroid impact."
Satellite crashes, asteroid impacts and space weather pose big risks, US lawmakers say | Space
One of the most pressing problems when it comes to keeping our planet safe from space threats is data, which sounds so simple to address.
It's not. That's why the U.S. Senate's Committee on Commerce, Science and Transportation spent a 90-minute hearing on Wednesday (Feb. 12) asking experts what the priorities should be when it comes to threats like space weather , rogue asteroids and space debris .
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There are, of course, many ways of collecting data about all of these threats. NASA has satellites in orbit, although many of them (such as the 24-year-old Solar and Heliospheric Observatory that watches flares from the sun) are aging and will need to be replaced soon. There are telescopes on the ground, although it's hard sometimes to find enough telescope time to monitor the skies.
Happening on Twitter
Warning! Warning! I mean Alert! Alert! Alert! Asteroid flypast tomorrow morning 9:55am ET... It will "probably" mis… https://t.co/JUxeY50VjW JeffyJFR Mon Feb 24 03:32:08 +0000 2020
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