NASA reports that a 570-foot asteroid called 2010 XC15 will pass by Earth on December 27. But do not worry.
This space rock is of particular interest to scientists at the University of Alaska Fairbanks (UAF) and NASA because it’s what allows them to prepare to fight Apophis.
Apophis, also known as 99942 Apophis, is a potentially dangerous near-Earth asteroid with a diameter of 370 meters. It caused a brief concern in December 2004 when initial observations suggested up to a 2.7% chance it would hit Earth on April 13, 2029.
As part of the plan, scientists will reach XC15 2010 with more than 9.6 million radio waves from the High Frequency Active Auroral Research Program (HAARP).
HAARP was started as an ionospheric research program by the US government. The original purpose was to analyze the ionosphere and investigate the possibility of developing ionospheric enhancement technologies for radio communications and monitoring.
Scientists will use the HAARP array to emit 9.6 megahertz radio waves at asteroid 2010 XC15.
Peran HAARP
HAARP has been used by astronomers and scientists to beam radio waves into space to find and study the shapes, sizes and trajectories of near-Earth asteroids.
To explore the 2010 XC15, scientists will use waves of much lower frequency (9.6 megahertz) and longer wavelengths.
2010XC15
The asteroid will approach Earth at a distance of 7,72,317 kilometers. NASA says the rock is moving at about 36,358 kilometers per hour.
To give you some perspective, it’s faster than a hypersonic ballistic missile.
2010 XC15 spends most of its time in Earth orbit. It was discovered on December 5, 2010 by the Catalina Sky Survey at what appeared to be a magnitude of 17.5 using a 0.68-metre (27 in) Schmidt.
Space rock created a period of uncertainty in 2013.
