People have a bottomless appetite for all things space these days. Some space news is truly mind-blowing, like the first image of a black hole last year or this year's time lapse of said black hole's dancing shadow . Then there's news of the less mind-blowing variety. Second only to full coverage of every supermoon are headlines of near (but harmless) misses by asteroids.
However, while a supermoon isn't too much more breathtaking than a run-of-the-mill full moon—those harmless near-misses actually do hint at something more significant. As our planet plows through space, its orbit inevitably crosses the orbits of other inhabitants of the solar system. Among this group are asteroids of all sizes. Most of these are so small they'd be vaporized by the atmosphere, but others are big enough to impact the surface and do serious damage.
Quite a lot has been going on:
Meteor, asteroid or UFO? Multiple reports of streak of bright light
CINCINNATI (FOX19) - Dozens of people reported a possible meteor lighting up the morning sky Wednesday across Ohio, Kentucky and Indiana.
"It became extremely bright and then fizzled out after a half second," one observer wrote from Mason.
"This was a very rare experience that I am happy I got to witness," reads another from Springdale. "It looked like something sparked a fire in the air and then it turned bright blue and fell from the sky."
NASA gearing up for epic asteroid-sampling maneuver next month | Space
"I can't tell you how excited I am," OSIRIS-REx principal investigator Dante Lauretta, of the University of Arizona, said during a news conference on Thursday (Sept. 24). "I'm confident that we're up to the challenge that's ahead of us."
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That challenge is considerable. OSIRIS-REx, which has been orbiting Bennu for nearly two years, will spiral down toward a small crater dubbed Nightingale on Oct. 20, aiming for a relatively flat, boulder-free region just 26 feet (8 m) wide. That will be a pretty tight squeeze for the spacecraft, which is the size of a 15-passenger van.
Japan's asteroid sample-return spacecraft Hayabusa2 gets extended mission | Space
The Japanese spacecraft Hayabusa2 is currently making its round-trip return from an asteroid, bringing pieces of the space rock back to Earth. But instead of ending its run with that cosmic delivery, after dropping off its precious parcel, the spacecraft will swing back out into space to visit another rocky destination.
After Hayabusa2 delivers its samples of asteroid Ryugu to Earth in December, the craft will head off toward a new asteroid target: 1998 KY26, the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) said in a statement. The spacecraft should reach the new asteroid in 2031.
Check out this next:
NASA Asteroid | Asteroid 2020 PM7 to fly pass Earth's orbit: Here's why it is being referred to
NASA's asteroid tracker has a new name - an asteroid with dimensions of 200 metres width is heading towards Earth right now as we write this.
The asteroid which is called 2020 PM7 is tipped to be between 91-200 metres - almost as tall as the Golden Gate Bridge in San Francisco.
The asteroid will fly by at a speed of eight kilometres a second and don't worry, we are safe. This is an Apollo asteroid because its path intersects the Earth's orbit.
Asteroid 2020 SY4 to swing by Earth on September 28, says NASA - Republic World
According to a report on NASA’s official website, at its closest approach, asteroid 2020 SY4 will be only 0.0048 astronomical units away from Earth’s surface. This is 4,50,000 miles only. The asteroid will be at its closest distance from Earth at 18:06 UTC, which is 11:06 am Monday, Pacific Time (PT). In IST this is 11:36 pm Monday, Indian Standard Time (IST).
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The asteroid is quite small in size as it is only 36 feet, which makes it as big as a school bus. However, due to its close flyby, it has been tagged as a Near-Earth Object (NEO). Asteroid 2020 SY4 has been classified among the class of Apollo asteroids.
Asteroid warning: NASA says space rock will hit Earth 'again someday' | Science | News
At one point, it was suggested an asteroid known as Apophis could hit Earth in 2028 or 2029. However, this has now been proven false.
NASA admitted its calculations were slightly off regarding Apophis, and thankfully the rock will miss Earth quite comfortably.
Nonetheless, the space agency has said an asteroid will hit Earth one day, but not in the "immediate future".
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"It is important to remember that they are just movies and often times do not represent good or true science.
Hayabusa2's next next mission: small, rapidly spinning asteroid | The Japan Times
Expectations are high for the Japanese spacecraft Hayabusa2 after the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency announced earlier this month that an unexplored asteroid will be the new target for the unmanned probe.
Hayabusa2 will head to the asteroid 1998KY26 after completing its current mission of delivering a capsule believed to contain samples of sand from the asteroid Ryugu to Earth in December.
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According to JAXA, it will be the first time in the world that a probe has visited a celestial body under 100 meters in diameter.
Happening on Twitter
I withdraw from people and places from time to time because space is needed in a world with millions of mouths that… https://t.co/n5F17keorp Mhuncho_1 (from Brent, London) Tue Sep 29 14:11:30 +0000 2020
The jobs of the future are in the Clean Energy space. We can create 5 million new jobs by moving to a Clean Energy… https://t.co/nlCqzsmQls MarkRuffalo (from NYS) Wed Sep 30 02:24:09 +0000 2020
The Upanishads teach that the small space (dahara akasha) in the spiritual heart (hridaya) at the core of our being… https://t.co/RJcmOiEwJN davidfrawleyved (from Santa Fe, NM USA) Tue Sep 29 15:35:04 +0000 2020
China burns more #coal than the rest of the world. And will burn more. Its coal industry is not at all worried abou… https://t.co/9M1FR7JmBD bueti Wed Sep 30 11:07:39 +0000 2020
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