On Tuesday morning, asteroid 455176 (1999 VF22) will pass our planet. Astronomers estimate that the object could be over 400 meters wide. It belongs to the so-called near-Earth asteroids. This is a real opportunity to make observations, because the next such rapprochement will happen in more than 120 years. What will you need to see it?
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The rapprochement between the Earth and the asteroid (asteroid) 455176, also known as 1999 VF22, will take place on Tuesday, February 22, when it will be 8.54 in Poland.
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It was discovered on November 10, 1999 as part of the Catalina Sky Survey program. The object on Tuesday morning of our time will be 5.4 million kilometers from our planet – that’s 14 times further than the Earth-Moon distance. Although it is one of the potentially dangerous asteroids (ang. Potentially Hazardous Asteroids) – as we will explain in a moment – that her collision with Earth is not considered possible.
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The orbit of 455176 is such that, in addition to the vicinity of Earth, it can also pass close to Venus and Mercury. It passes one of these three planets on almost every one orbit around the sun.
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Astronomers estimate its size between 190 and 430 meters. You will be able to observe the flight, but you will need a telescope over 30 centimeters in diameter. The next rapprochement will take place in 128 years, i.e. on February 23, 2150.
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Potentially dangerous object
The body belongs to a group called Near Earth Objects. Near-Earth Objects), as well as potentially dangerous asteroids (ang. Potentially Hazardous Asteroids). The latter category includes objects approaching the Earth at less than 0.05 AU (19.5 times the distance to the Moon) and having a size large enough to cause significant regional damage on impact. Currently, there are more than 2,200 celestial bodies on the list of such objects, but for the vast majority of them, a collision with Earth in the next 100 years is not considered likely.
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Some asteroids fly almost every day near our planet, at a distance of several or several million kilometers, but they are usually several dozen or several dozen meters in size (and probably smaller, which are more difficult to track). In relation to them, the object 455 176 is quite large. However, it is very small, if you compare it to an object whose impact could – according to hypotheses – contribute to the mass extinction at the end of the Cretaceous (then dinosaurs became extinct then). It is believed that the Chicxulub crater, 150 kilometers in diameter, may be a remnant of that event, and the body that contributed to its formation was about 10 km in diameter.
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Orbit 455176 (1999 VF22)ssd.jpl.nasa.gov
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photo-source">Main photo source: Shutterstock
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