Amidst the clamor of human activity, an asteroid the size of a house is passing by Earth at a distance closer than the moon on March 17, 2023. The asteroid is named 2023 EY. Even so, we can still rest easy. Launch Spacethis asteroid will not hit the earth really.
Here are some facts about the 2023 EY asteroid that you need to know. Hope it adds to your knowledge!
1. Asteroid 2023 EY is a hazardous asteroid
asteroid Vesta (jpl.nasa.gov)
What’s that hazardous asteroid? As terrible as it sounds, it really is hazardous asteroid means objects larger than 150 meters that can be within 7.5 million kilometers of Earth.
Asteroid 2023 EY itself is only about 16 meters in diameter. However, because of its very close distance, which is about 240,000 kilometers, this asteroid is included in the object being monitored by the international astronomical association. Oh yes, the distance of this asteroid is closer than two thirds of the distance from the Moon to Earth, you know. Very close, huh?
2. The size of the Chelyabinsk meteor that exploded over Siberia in 2013
artist drawing of asteroid Pallas (solarsystemnasa.gov)
In 2013, or ten years ago, the Chelyabinsk meteor exploded over the Siberian sky. The explosion injured several people. If you want to know how big the 2023 EY asteroid is, roughly the size of the Chelyabinsk meteor.
Reported from news.sky.com on February 15, 2013 in central Russia near the Ural Mountains, a small meteor entered Earth’s atmosphere. The meteor then exploded with 30 times the force of the US atomic bomb that destroyed Hiroshima in World War II. Luckily there were only a few injuries.
But don’t worry, the 2023 EY asteroid will not enter Buki’s atmosphere like the Chelyabinsk meteor. It’s just going to pass.
Also Read: 6 Shocking Facts about Asteroids, Could it Hit the Earth?
3. Asteroid 2023 EY is included in the Apollo NEO class
asteroids Mathikde, Gaapra and Ida (spaceplace.nasa.gov)
The Apollo NEO asteroids are defined as asteroids that have orbits close to Earth. This type of asteroid has an orbit that is larger than Earth’s orbit around the Sun. But the path of this type of asteroid crosses Earth’s orbit.
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There were around 17,540 Apollo NEO asteroids as of February 2023. And of that number, nearly 2,000 Apollo asteroids were identified as potentially dangerous asteroids (hazardous asteroids).
4. Newly discovered on March 13, 2023
NASA’s DART mission (solarsystem.nasa.gov)
The most interesting thing about this 2023 EY asteroid is that it was only discovered a few days ago, Monday 13 March 2023 to be precise. Reporting from Scince Alert, this asteroid was discovered by the Sutherland Observation Station telescope in South Africa. The telescope is one of four that make up the ATLAS (Asteroid Terrestrial-impact Last Alert System) network.
ATLAS itself was founded by the University of Hawaii and funded by NASA. ATLAS is capable of operating all year round, 24 hours a day without stopping. ATLAS provides an early warning system for objects that may be hazardous to Earth.
With two telescopes in Hawaii, one in Chile, and one in South Africa, the goal of creating the ATLAS telescope network was to get at least a few days’ notice before any approaching danger to Earth.
Combined with the DART mission that NASA launched before, humans may be able to divert the direction of this dangerous object by launching a rocket at the source of danger to change its direction of motion.
Also Read: Don’t Be Confused! This is the difference between Meteors, Asteroids and Comets
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