An Empire State-sized asteroid passed Earth on February 3. An asteroid the size of the Empire State building that was detected passing by Earth was revealed thanks to NASA’s Deep Space Network. Since it was first detected, scientists’ eyes were immediately fixed on this asteroid.
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Splashy, an Empire State-sized Asteroid Passes Earth
It’s no longer a secret that space objects approaching Earth always steal the show. The asteroid passing by Earth is no exception, called AG5 2011.
The asteroid was detected at a distance close to Earth, causing panic and anxiety.
But there’s no need to panic or get excited because it turns out that the 2011 AG5 asteroid flew safely. We can say that this asteroid has no risk of danger that threatens the security of the Earth and everything in it.
However, scientists at NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Southern California, did not let go of their observations.
Scientists continue to observe the movement of this asteroid in order to get to know it more closely. Through these observations, scientists try to find out the size, rotation, surface details, shape, and so on. Scientists do have their own interest in studying asteroids passing through this Earth.
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Asteroid AG5 2011 specifications
In the observations made by scientists, facts about the specifications of AG5 2011 were revealed. It turns out that AG5 2011 is one of the longest asteroids. The reason is, this asteroid with an oval shape has a width comparable to three times its length.
This asteroid was actually first detected in 2011 and in close observations, scientists say AG5 2011 is about 1,600 feet long.
Then it’s about 500 feet wide. With this size, AG5 2011 is indeed as big as the Empire State building when it passes Earth.
Meanwhile, for the distance, AG5 2011 about 1.1 million miles. This distance is almost five times the distance between Earth and the Moon. Even so, this asteroid does not harm the Earth.
Goldstone Radar Observation Technology
Certainly not just any technology that scientists use to observe the 2011 AG5 asteroid. In this case, observations using the Goldstone Radar at the Deep Space Network facility. The dish is 230 feet long near Barstow.
The close observation of the asteroid past Earth was carried out from January 29 to February 4 and managed to reveal a number of interesting facts. In addition to the specifications above, these observations show that AG5 2011 has light and dark regions. For the dark area, we can compare it to charcoal.
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The next interesting fact is that the rotation rate of this asteroid is relatively slow. It’s so slow, it takes up to 9 hours to fully rotate. Then for the sun’s orbit, one round can take 621 days.
From the latest news that is busy discussing an asteroid the size of the Empire State passing by Earth, in fact we don’t need to worry. Even so, scientists still continue to make observations as well as research. Not only aims to reveal detailed specifications, but also as a form of vigilance if there are things we don’t want to happen. (R10/HR-Online)
This post was last modified on Februari 23, 2023 10:02 PM
