Welcome to Lab 360, for all the latest happenings from the world of space.
A potentially dangerous asteroid is headed for Earth today, Mar 24, 2022, according to NASA.
This news, which comes just days after astronomers spotted an asteroid hours before it hit Earth,
informs that another space object is set to come close to the planet on Thursday. Asteroid
2013 BO76 will swing past Earth at a distance of 51,11,759 kilometers, which is extremely close
for Nasa to term it as a potentially hazardous asteroid. The asteroid has a diameter of around
450 meters, making it big enough to cause a lot of destruction if it hit Earth. However, the planet
remains safe from it since it will just look on as the asteroid goes into its orbit. At its closest,
the asteroid will be flying at a staggering speed of 49513.45 kilometers per hour. Asteroid 2013
BO76, as it has been named, is 450 meters across. The size may seem small but the high speed with
which it is traveling gives it enough potential to cause major damage on Earth if it were to hit us.
The Jet Propulsion Laboratory, which tracks Near-Earth Objects, has released the orbital
parameters of the asteroid along with its orbital diagram around Earth that extends beyond
the orbit of Mars in an elongated shape. The asteroid, if compared to objects on the planet,
has a similar size as the Empire State Building in the United States.
The asteroid last visited us in 2013, when it flew as close as 78,88,295 kilometers from Earth. The
JPL has said that after Thursday's close flyby, the asteroid will next visit Earth on July 14,
2033. During its 2033 approach, asteroid 2013 BO76 will be at a distance of 1,91,85,926 kilometers.
The latest asteroid flyby comes days after astronomers detected an asteroid with a low
chance of hitting Earth, crashing to the surface hours later. The object,
which was barely two meters in size, entered the atmosphere southwest of Jan Mayen,
a Norwegian island 470 kilometers off the east coast of Greenland and northeast of Iceland.
The impact was confirmed by infrasound detectors. Asteroids are rocky fragments
left over from the formation of the solar system about 4.6 billion years ago.
According to the Nasa Joint Propulsion Laboratory (JPL), which tracks asteroid movement,
an asteroid is classified as a near-Earth object when its distance from our planet is less than
1.3 times the distance from Earth to the Sun. Numerous near-Earth objects (NEOs) are tracked
on a daily basis to furnish a premature warning if they shift onto a collision course with our
planet. It's pertinent to note here that the course of the asteroid can get easily altered.
Asteroid 2013 BO76 on March 24 will join the group of seven space objects that are expected
to pass Earth while making a close approach. Fortunately, not a single one of the asteroids
being tracked in real time by the space agency are thought to pose any risks of collision.
Our planet has not witnessed an asteroid of apocalyptic level since the rock
that wiped out the dinosaurs. Let's hope it stays that way!
What do you guys have to say? Drop in your comments below and don't
forget to subscribe to Lab 360, for all the latest happenings from the world of space.