An enormous asteroid, potentially measuring more than two-and-a-half miles in diameter, is set to sail safely past the Earth toward the end of next month—and astronomers have captured an image of it as it approaches our planet.
The giant space rock—known as (52768) 1998 OR2—is the biggest asteroid to make a close approach to Earth in 2020, according to NASA's Center for Near Earth Object Studies (CNEOS.)
Data from the CNEOS indicates that the object could measure anywhere between 1.1 and just over 2.6 miles in diameter, based on its observed magnitude.
Many things are taking place:
Giant asteroid apocalypse 13K years ago likely wiped out ancient civilization
The asteroid that hit Earth nearly 13,000 years ago and ended the Pleistocene era likely wiped out an ancient civilization in what is modern-day Syria, according to newly discovered evidence.
The research, published in Scientific Reports , notes that experts discovered remnants of glass that were created during a high-impact event, as well as minerals such as chromium, iron, nickel and others, all of which formed in temperatures higher than 2,200 degrees Celsius, according to a statement from the University of California-Santa Barbara.
Hazardous Object Identifier: Supercomputer Helps to Identify Dangerous Asteroids
Asteroid defense may seem like the realm of sci-fi movies or arcade games, but for astronomers at Universiteit Leiden, it's a perfect application of high-performance computing. The research team leveraged Leiden's in-house supercomputer to assess asteroid trajectories using an artificial neural network, showing that some asteroids that seem harmless may be on a collision course with Earth.
The researchers built a simulation of the solar system and its orbits, then fast-forwarded it ten thousand years. Then, they hit rewind – while "launching" asteroid after asteroid from the Earth's surface as it spun backwards in time. The simulation showed how those asteroids rewound themselves through the solar system, allowing the researchers to use the resulting asteroid data to train a neural network on the behavior of asteroids that would eventually collide with Earth.
NASA Warns Of 223-Foot Asteroid Approaching Earth Tomorrow
NASA warned that a massive asteroid is currently headed for Earth. Based on the data collected by the agency's Near-Earth Object Studies (CNEOS), the asteroid could cause an impact event on Earth if it directly collides with the planet.
The approaching asteroid was identified as 2009 UB95 . According to CNEOS, this asteroid is currently traveling across the Solar System and is moving towards Earth at a speed of about 17,000 miles per hour.
It has an estimated diameter of 223 feet, making it almost as long as the wingspan of a Boeing 747 plane.
Not to change the topic here:
NASA's Asteroid-Sampling Spacecraft Just Made The Closest Pass of Its Target Yet
NASA's OSIRIS-REx is getting closer, physically and temporally, to its primary goal. The spacecraft arrived at Bennu at the end of 2018, and for just over a year it's been studying the asteroid, searching for a suitable sampling site.
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OSIRIS-REx stands for Origins, Spectral Interpretation, Resource Identification, Security-Regolith Explorer. The heart of the mission is the sample it'll collect from asteroid Bennu. That sample will eventually make its way back to Earth for study.
Massive asteroid will look like a slow-moving star during Earth flyby
Does a new asteroid have astrological significance? | News, Paganism, Witchcraft, World
TWH – On February 15, two astronomers from the Catalina Sky Survey found a stray asteroid orbiting the earth . Earth’s gravity had pulled this car-sized asteroid into the earth's orbit. It has orbited the earth for about three years. Its astrological meaning, if any, is unknown.
The orbit of 2020 CD3 around the Earth. The gray band is the orbit of the Moon. Image credit: Tony873004 – Own work, CC BY-SA 4.0
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Dominguez had great skepticism about any astrological meaning to this asteroid-moon. He doubted if anyone could figure out its Zodiacal position. He explained, "This asteroid is moving in a chaotic path around the Earth with each pass. Moreover, this asteroid's orbit is so erratic that it does not remain in the band of degrees that mark the Zodiac. It will leave the vicinity of Earth by the end of April, so it is a moot point."
Happening on Twitter
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