WASHINGTON DC, KOMPAS.com – Asteroid the biggest that goes through Earth this year, it has reached its closest distance and poses no threat of a catastrophic collision.
This rare phenomenon is also an opportunity for astronomers to study rocks that formed at the beginning of the solar system.
From asteroid named 2001 FO32 This time, astronomers hope to gain a better understanding of the composition of the rock, which is estimated to be 900 meters in diameter, or roughly the equivalent of 3.5 times the area of a football field.
Also read: Asteroids As Big As 3 Football Fields Reach The Closest Distance To Earth, There Is Potential Danger
Word NASA, the asteroid reaches its closest distance to Earth, which is 2 million kilometers or 5.25 times the distance from Earth to the Moon.
The closest 2001 FO32 to Earth is 2052, NASA added.
Although there is no risk of collision, the asteroid, named 2001 FO32, is still classified as “potentially dangerous”.
“The labeling” potentially dangerous “is intended to note that an asteroid is important to track down and verify as zero (potential), which is certain,” Richard Binzel, a planetary scientist from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, told Newsweek.
Also read: 6 Asteroid Facts 2001 FO32, Size to be classified as Potential Danger
Launch New York Post, this asteroid was discovered on March 23, 2001 by the Lincoln Near-Earth Asteroid Research project, a collaboration between the US Air Force, NASA, and the Lincoln Laboratory at MIT.
Asteroid 2001 FO32 is closest to Earth at around 14.00 GMT or 21.00 WIB on Sunday (21/3/2021).
NASA explains, asteroid 2001 FO32 arriving at a speed of about 124,000 km / hr, faster than most asteroids that crash onto Earth.
Also read: This asteroid will cross the earth March 21, 3 times the height of the Eiffel Tower
Because of its elongated orbit, NASA says, it picks up speed like a skateboarder glides on halfpipe.
“And then it slows down after being thrown back into space and swinging back towards the sun,” he explained AFP.
NASA has mapped more than 95 percent of near-Earth asteroids measuring 2001 FO32 or greater.
They claim, none of the asteroids are likely to hit Earth during the next century.
Also read: 6 Facts about Apophis asteroids that cross the earth, can hit the earth 195,000 years
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