House-sized asteroid to pass close to Earth today

Arab Weather - An asteroid the size of a house is approaching Earth today, followed by two smaller celestial bodies. NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory has issued an alert about the three asteroids, as the closest of them is expected to pass within 192,000 miles of Earth, which is 48,000 miles closer than the current distance of the moon.

The size and proximity of asteroids provide astronomers with a unique research opportunity as they work to create a defense system to prevent future space rocks from hitting Earth. Nearby asteroids are a major area of interest for research and study, given their potential to impact our planet.

Nearby asteroids details

One asteroid, called 2024 TA12, is about 14 feet long and will pass between Earth and the moon. Meanwhile, another bus-sized asteroid, called 2021 TK11, and another roughly house-sized asteroid, called 2024 TH3, will approach Earth from distances of 1.9 million miles and 2.8 million miles, respectively.

No risk of collision

NASA has confirmed that the asteroids will not come close enough to Earth to pose any risk of collision. These asteroids are classified as near-Earth objects (NEOs) because they come within 120 million miles of the sun thanks to the gravitational influence of other nearby planets.

As more asteroids are observed, astronomers’ accuracy in predicting where these objects will be years or decades into the future improves dramatically. That means researchers will be able to more accurately determine whether asteroids will approach or collide with Earth, preventing another catastrophe like the one that wiped out the dinosaurs 66 million years ago.

Preparing for the worst case scenario

Although none of the asteroids that are approaching pose a major threat, NASA is preparing for worse scenarios by studying near-Earth objects. The agency created the Planetary Defense Coordination Office (PDCO) in 2016, with the goal of identifying, tracking, and understanding comets and asteroids that could pose a threat to Earth.

NASA has developed the Near-Earth Object Surveyor (NEO Surveyor) space telescope, scheduled to launch in 2027, which will help detect and characterize potentially hazardous asteroids that come within 30 million miles of Earth’s orbit. The project is an important step toward enhancing the agency’s ability to detect asteroids and assess their risks.

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Sources:

NASA