This mysterious body was discovered by scientists using data from the Panoramic Survey Telescope and Rapid Response System (Pan-STARRS), which is a system of cameras and telescopes located in Hawaii. Their main goal is the detection of objects approaching the Earth, so-called NEOs.
Small but very close
On July 4, scientists identified the object and calculated its approximate size and trajectory, estimating that the space rock measured between 5.5 and 12.5 meters at its longest dimension.
According to the website Space.com so there is no reason to worry. Because of its miniature dimensions, NF 2022 does not meet NASA’s criteria for a “potentially dangerous asteroid”, which generally must measure at least 140 meters in length and at the same time pass within 7.5 million kilometers of Earth.
Earth was hit by an asteroid. Scientists noticed it just two hours before the impact
The newly discovered asteroid may be moving very close to Earth, but fortunately it is too small to be considered an existential threat.
Although the asteroid will make its closest approach to Earth today (July 7), it was already seen by some telescopes yesterday (July 6). Its flyby was broadcast live, for example, by the Virtual Telescope Project, which observed it from its telescope in Rome.
Video observation here:
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Source: Youtube
NEO observations
NASA and other space agencies are closely monitoring thousands of NEOs like this one. However, they rarely pose a threat to Earth. However, some large asteroids could be potentially dangerous if their trajectory accidentally changed.
In November 2021, for example, NASA launched an asteroid deflection probe called Double Asteroid Redirection Test (DART), which will crash head-on into the 160-meter-wide asteroid Dimorphos in fall 2022.
DART:
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Source: Youtube
“Although the collision will not destroy the asteroid, it may slightly change the path of its orbit,” the server said earlier Live Science. The mission will help test the viability of asteroid deflection should any future asteroid pose an imminent threat to our planet.
Asteroid is an older but still frequently used designation for bodies that are properly called planets. The imprecise naming of asteroids has historical roots from a time when only two bodies were known. At the time when several dozens of bodies were already discovered, a new designation of this hitherto unknown type of bodies was adopted – asteroid.
NEO (Near Earth Object)
A near-Earth object is any small Solar System body whose orbit brings it close to Earth. By convention, a Solar System body is classified as a NEO if its closest approach to the Sun is less than 1.3 AU.
Pan-STARRS (short for Panoramic Survey Telescope and Rapid Response System) is a system of two telescopes at the Haleakala Observatory on the island of Maui (Hawaiian Islands) in the USA. It is primarily intended for the search for near-Earth planets, although it has also been used to discover a large number of comets (they often have the word PANSTARRS in the name), such as C/2011 L4 (Panstarrs).
The telescopes are operated by the University of Hawaii. Their operation has been managed since 2014 by the Pan-STARRS 1 Science Consortium Surveys. The main share of its funding (about 90%) is provided by the American NASA through the Near Earth Object Observations program.
Virtual Telescope Project
The Virtual Telescope Project is an advanced service provided by the Bellatrix Astronomical Observatory in Italy, directed by Dr. Gianluca Masi, PhD. It consists of several robotic telescopes that are remotely accessible in real time over the Internet, both for research and for entertainment, available to all. Despite the technologically advanced instrumentation, the system is very simple to operate.
Double Asteroid Redirection Test
DART is an upcoming probe of the American agency NASA, whose main goal is to impact the surface of the planet Didymos’ moon. This experiment should verify whether humanity is capable of deflecting asteroids that would threaten to hit the Earth in this way.
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