Only detected after a few hours, this small asteroid is so close to Earth

Writer: Arif Budianto

KONTAN.CO.ID – Only detected after a few hours, this small asteroid is so close to Earth. This car-sized asteroid is so close to Earth at a distance of 9,532 miles (15,340 Km) from Earth’s surface.

Recently, a thrilling phenomenon came from a celestial body that turned out to be quite close to Earth. Unfortunately, the asteroid, which was later named 2021 RS2, was detected several hours after passing through our planet.

Quoting from the page Earthsky, astronomers at Mount Lemmon, Arizona discovered a car-sized asteroid on September 7, 2021. Quick calculations of its trajectory show that it passed Earth just hours after its discovery.

According to NASA’s Center for Near-Earth Object Studies (CNEOS), the asteroid’s closest position occurred at 17:28 UTC on September 8. The asteroid eventually brought the name 2021 RS2.

By site The Watchers, this asteroid 2021 RS2 is the closest space rock to pass Earth so far in 2021. Noted, this is the 81st asteroid known to approach Earth within one Moon (Lunar Distance) since early 2021.

The closest distance of asteroid 2021 RS2 to Earth’s surface is only 9,532 miles (15,340 Km). according to Earthsky, this distance is very close, if we look at Earth’s diameter of about 7,917.5 miles (12,742 Km), then the asteroid is a little further than one diameter of our planet.

Relative to Earth, the small asteroid is moving at a speed of 39,366 miles per hour (63,353 km/h).

The good news, its relatively small size does not put Earth in a state of danger. If asteroid 2021 RS2 were closer to our planet and entered the atmosphere, friction with the air would cause this small asteroid to disintegrate.

On the other hand, this rock originating from space causes impressive and bright meteors in the sky.

Also Read: Can a person live on the planet Mars forever? Get ready to freak out!

How can such a small asteroid only be detected after a few hours?

Due to its small size, the asteroid is not easy to detect. Even if the distance is too far from Earth, it will be increasingly difficult to detect asteroids of similar size.

The closer the distance, the easier it is to detect. Not surprisingly, experts find it easier to anticipate asteroids with a larger size because they can be detected easily even though the distance is quite far.

Larger asteroids also generally reflect light, so their position can be detected.