A small asteroid the size of a bus will make an extremely close approach to
Earth on Thursday (July 7), passing within just 56,000 miles (90,000
kilometers) – or about 23 percent of the average distance between Earth and
the Moon. And just a few days ago, no one knew it was coming
The asteroid, named 2022 NF, is expected to pass safely by our planet,
according to calculations by NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena,
California.
Astronomers discovered the sneaky asteroid using data from the Panoramic
Survey Telescope and Rapid Response System (Pan-STARRS) – a system of
cameras and telescopes based in Hawaii with the primary goal of detecting
near-Earth objects, or NEOs.
On July 4, researchers identified the object and calculated its approximate
size and trajectory, estimating that the space rock measured between 18 and
41 feet wide (5.5 meters and 12.5 meters) at its longest dimension.
Because of its diminutive size, 2022 NF does not fit NASA's criteria for a
"potentially hazardous asteroid," which generally must measure at least 460
feet (140 meters) long and pass within 4.6 million miles (7.5 million km) of
Earth, according to Live Science's sister site
Space.com.
While the newly detected asteroid will sail well within that distance, it is
much too small to be considered an existential threat to Earth.
Though the asteroid makes its closest approach to Earth on July 7, it will
be visible to some telescopes beginning on Wednesday (July 6); the Virtual
Telescope Project will livestream the asteroid's flyby from their telescope
in Rome, beginning at 4 pm EDT (08:00 UTC).
You can join in by clicking over to the Virtual Telescope Project's website
here.
NASA and other space agencies closely monitor thousands of NEOs like this
one. Rarely do they pose a threat to Earth – but, some large asteroids could
prove dangerous if their trajectories should happen to change.
In November 2021, NASA launched an asteroid-deflecting spacecraft called the
Double Asteroid Redirection Test (DART), which will slam head-on into the
525-foot-wide (160 m) Dimorphos asteroid in autumn 2022.
The collision will not destroy the asteroid, but it may change the space
rock's orbital path slightly, Live Science previously reported. The mission
will help test the viability of asteroid deflection, should some future
asteroid pose an imminent threat to our planet.
Originally published on
Live Science.
Tags:
Space & Astrophysics