The asteroid named 2021 RS2 is relatively small, and at 9:28 a.m. (Italian time) this morning (September 8, 2021) it literally hit us, luckily without entering the atmosphere, as EarthSky reports.
The most interesting news, however, is not about the size of the asteroid or even its characteristics, but the fact that it was only discovered last night by astronomers from Mount Lemmon in Arizona.
Minimum distance of 15,340 km
The astronomers themselves made quick calculations of the trajectory only to realize that it would hit our planet just a few hours later. After its discovery, the asteroid was immediately cataloged by NASA’s Center for Near Earth Object Studies (CNEOS). This morning, shortly before 7:30 am, the asteroid therefore approached as closely as possible, arriving at a distance of only 15,340 km from the surface of our planet (practically a little more than the diameter of the Earth itself), that is to say about 1 / 25th of the average distance between the Earth and the Moon.
Height of 3.5 m and speed of 63,000 km per hour
The researchers calculated that the asteroid had an average size of just over 3.5 meters and that when it passed in front of us it had a speed of just over 63,000 km per hour (a just over 17 km per second).
It would probably have shattered on impact with the atmosphere.
It is likely that if it had come into contact with the atmosphere, the friction with the latter would have shattered it and disintegrated it, but the arrival of a small piece on the surface of the Earth does not can be excluded. However, it would have caused a remarkable meteor, visible to the naked eye.
The discovery was made by astronomer KW Wierzchos in 1945. W. Wierzchos as part of the Mount Lemmon Astronomical Survey using the 1.52 m telescope at Mount Lemmon, Arizona.
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