A large asteroid passes near Earth tomorrow without danger … Know the details

Tomorrow, Sunday, November 29, 2020, the large asteroid – named 2000 WO107 – with a diameter of 500 meters from the Earth is approaching, and it will be at the closest distance from the Earth at 05:08 a.m. GMT, at a distance equivalent to about 11 times the distance between the earth and the moon, which is A very safe distance would give astronomers a good chance to study it.

And the Astronomical Society in Jeddah revealed in a report that the asteroid will be subject to careful monitoring and the reason for this is its relatively large size, and because it will return after that and approach again for a closer distance than this year in the coming years.

Everyone knows that asteroids are of different sizes, but the size of the asteroid (2000 WO107) is different from other asteroids known to cross near the Earth, when compared to its diameter of 500 meters, it is much larger than the asteroid (2020 SW), which reached a distance equivalent to 7% of the distance of the moon On September 24th, which is only 4.5 to 10 meters in diameter.

However, it is smaller than the largest object in the asteroid belt between Mars and Jupiter called Ceres, which has a diameter of about 946 km.

Asteroids move at different speeds, and the large asteroid (2000 WO107) is fast moving, as it rushes through space at an amazing speed of 90,252 kilometers per hour, by contrast, through the asteroid (SW 2020) near the Earth at a speed of 27,900 kilometers per hour.

Astronomers will study the asteroid by analyzing the bounce of radar signals that are reflected from its surface, then images can be produced that show us the shape of the asteroid and determine its composition, it may be metallic or a dark rock in the visible light, that is, a dark rock in the visible light part of the electromagnetic spectrum.

The asteroid is classified as a type (Aten), and it completes a revolution around the sun once every 318 days, and its path connects it between the orbits of Mercury and Earth, and computer models indicate that it sometimes also approaches Mars, Venus and Mercury.

After the asteroid approaches our planet on November 29, 2020, it will return to pass from a slightly closer distance in every next approach, first in November 2040, then in November 2093, and the closest approach will occur on December 1, 2140, when it will pass at a distance equivalent to half the distance between Earth and the moon .

Due to the size of the asteroid and its relatively close passage, it has been classified as a potentially dangerous asteroid, yet it does not pose a collision risk with Earth, as its orbit is well known.

During the approach of the asteroid this year 2020, it will not be seen with the naked eye, as its apparent visible brightness will be between (12 to 13.5) in conjunction with the moon in the full moon phase, but observers who use telescopes measuring 6 or 8 inches, or larger, electronically will be able to locate The asteroid, and they might be able to see it, as it would appear from Earth like a point of light moving slowly in front of the stars.

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