NASA’s CNEOS website has a constantly updated list of so-called Near Earth asteroids, objects that pass in relatively close proximity to our planet. According to the latest information, one of them will appear near the ground on Sunday.
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I am talking about an asteroid number 7335, also called “1989 JA”which was discovered on May 1, 1989. It was done by Eleanor Helin, American astronomer who died in 2009.
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“1989 JA” is a rocky object, which belongs to the so-called Apollo group, i.e. a group of near-Earth asteroids, orbits crossing not only the orbit of the Earth, but also Venus, and sometimes even Mercury.
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As NASA points out, the body will pass us at a relative speed of 13.12 km / s, or over 47,000 kilometers per hour. The shortest distance will be about 4 million kilometers, which is more than 10 times the distance from Earth to Moon.
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It is the largest object of this type that will pass our planet this year. Fortunately, at a safe distance, otherwise a dangerous event could occur. It is worth noting that “1989 ME” has never been so close to our planet and it will not come so close for the next 172 years.
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You have to wait two years
The last time a close encounter with an equally large asteroid took place on April 29, 2020, when the 1998 OR asteroid flew at a distance of 0.042 AU (6.3 million km). You will have to wait for the next one until June 2024. That’s when 2011 UL21 will visit us. It is an asteroid 1.8 to 3.9 kilometers in diameter.
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See also: Is the SanDisk Extreme Portable SSD worth buying?
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