An asteroid passes near Earth
The Jeddah Astronomical Society said that the newly discovered asteroid (2023 SP3) will pass near the Earth tomorrow, Sunday (September 24, 2023), and there is no danger of it colliding with Earth.
The head of the Jeddah Astronomy, Eng. Majed Abu Zahra (via the association’s Facebook page) said that the asteroid (2023 SP3) has a diameter of (19) meters and is moving at a speed of (11.7) kilometers per second, and it will be at the closest distance (328,716) kilometers, and it is not visible to the naked eye.
The chief astronomer in Jeddah added that the asteroid (2023 SP3) is among the list of near-Earth objects, which includes any asteroid whose orbit intersects with the Earth’s orbit. These asteroids are closely monitored, and thanks to high-precision observations and celestial mechanical calculations, their orbit can usually be known with a high level of accuracy. Precision.
The Jeddah astronomer indicated that if this asteroid was on a collision course and entered the Earth’s atmosphere and disintegrated at a low altitude, high energy could be released from it, causing a shock wave in the sky, which could lead to the shattering of building windows and the arrival of small pieces of the remains of that space rock. The surface of the Earth in the form of meteorites at the site of its penetration, as happened in Russia in 2013.
The Jeddah Astronomer continued that monitoring the asteroid’s movement is an excellent opportunity to test international capabilities to discover and track near-Earth objects, and to evaluate our ability to respond together to any real threat to any asteroid in the future.
