The Virtual Telescope project captured this view of asteroid 2001 FO32 just after it made a safe pass past Earth. The arrow points out the asteroid.
You can understand how a planet full of stressed-out people trying to survive a pandemic might get a little panicky about news of a very large asteroid visiting our cosmic neighborhood. But it's all OK. Asteroid 2001 FO32 passed by at a safe distance on March 21.
One of the reasons the asteroid attracted extra attention is its size. It's a big 'un, and initial information suggested it could clock in with an estimated diameter of up to about a mile (1.7 kilometers). The latest data has scaled that down and it may actually be closer to 1,800 feet (550 meters) in diameter. That's still plenty hefty.
Check out this next:
Asteroid safely flies by Earth on Sunday | Fox News
The celestial object, which had received the designation of a "potentially hazardous asteroid" by NASA's Planetary Defense Coordination Office, didn't get too close, though.
"We know the orbital path of 2001 FO32 around the Sun very accurately, since it was discovered 20 years ago and has been tracked ever since," said Paul Chodas , director of the Center for Near Earth Object Studies ( CNEOS ), which is managed by NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Southern California . "There is no chance the asteroid will get any closer to Earth than 1.25 million miles."
'Potentially hazardous asteroid' to come closest to Earth on Sunday
Astronomers were excited to observe a "potentially hazardous asteroid" as it came the closest to Earth it has ever been on Sunday — a mere 1.25 million miles from our planet's atmosphere.
The asteroid, called 2001 FO32, formed at the dawn of our solar system, and it is the largest space rock that is expected to fly by Earth this year, according to NASA. Scientists calculate that the asteroid won't approach this closely again until 2052, offering astronomers a rare chance to observe the prehistoric rock.
An asteroid the size of a semi-truck and two other space rocks are flying by Earth today | Space
Three asteroids are making close approaches to our planet today (March 23), but don't worry; the small rocks pose no threat as they drift by Earth, passing closer than the average distance between our planet and the moon.
The largest of the three space rocks, a house-size asteroid called 2021 FH, passed by Earth today at approximately 12:52 p.m. EDT (1652 GMT) at a distance of roughly 145,940 miles (234,870 kilometers), or 0.61 times the average Earth-moon distance. NASA estimates the asteroid's diameter is between 39 feet and 89 feet (12 meters to 27 meters), or about the length of a semi-truck.
Were you following this:
Huge asteroid 2021 EQ3 zoomed safely past Earth - CNET
A particularly big asteroid passed by Earth particularly close on March 15. The flyby was completely safe and didn't pose any risk to anything or anyone on Earth, or to any of our satellites. But asteroid 2021 EQ3 came closer to Earth than our lone natural satellite.
Sky surveys and other telescopes spot a space rock passing closer than the moon every few days, on average. Most of these asteroids are just a few meters across, likely making them no larger than a bus.
An asteroid the size of the Golden Gate Bridge to make "very close encounter" with Earth this
(CBS News) - An asteroid similar in size to the Golden Gate Bridge will whip past our planet this weekend — the largest and fastest asteroid to pass by Earth this year.
* * *
The asteroid, officially known by NASA as 231937 ( 2001 FO32 ), is smaller than the last notable one to closely approach Earth, but it will be three times closer, NASA said in a statement .
2001 FO32 is about 1,300 to 2,230 feet wide, according to observations made by the NEOWISE mission team, putting it at the smaller end of the scale. It has an orbit period of 810 days.
Large asteroid to zip past Earth today at unusual speed, no threat of collision - SCIENCE News
The largest asteroid to pass by Earth this year will swing closest on Sunday , giving astronomers a rare chance for a good look at a space rock that formed at the dawn of our solar system.
While in astronomical terms this marks a close encounter with the asteroid -- called 2001 FO32 -- Nasa says there is no threat of a collision with our planet "now or for centuries to come".
The nearest it will get will be two million kilometres (1.25 million miles) away, according to the US space agency.
The largest 'potentially hazardous asteroid' of 2021 will pass by Earth on March 21
Following Tuesday's historic touchdown on the asteroid Bennu, NASA has released never-before-seen images of the OSIRIS-REx spacecraft kicking up rocks and debris on the space rock's surface. (Credit: NASA via Storyful)
LOS ANGELES - The largest asteroid to pass by our planet in 2021 will be at its closest on Sunday, providing astronomers a rare chance to see the giant rock that formed at the dawn of our solar system.
According to a statement by NASA , the near-Earth asteroid, called 2001 FO32, will make its closest approach at a distance of about 1.25 million miles — equivalent to 5 1/4 times the distance from Earth of the moon.
No comments:
Post a Comment