RIO – The largest asteroid to approach Earth in 2021 will pass “close” to the planet this Sunday, about two million kilometers away and at a speed of 124 thousand km / h. “Faster than most asteroids” that circulate close to Earth, according to the American Space Agency, NASA.
Covid-19: Instituto Serum will delay sending vaccines from AstraZeneca to Brazil, says agency
Named 2001 FO32 and measuring less than a kilometer in diameter, it was classified as “potentially dangerous” by NASA, like all asteroids whose orbit is less than 19.5 times the Earth-Moon distance and whose diameter is greater than 140 meters . But there is no risk of collision with the planet.
The asteroid’s trajectory is “sufficiently known and regular” to rule out any danger, guarantee the experts at the Paris-PSL Observatory.
When to observe
The rocky body, which is not on its first visit, should pass through the closest point to our planet this Sunday at 16:02 GMT (13:02 GMT). It will then be 2,016,158 km from Earth, or about five times the Earth-Moon distance. The event will allow astronomers to study the celestial object.
According to the Center for the Study of Near-Earth Objects (CNEOS), “amateur astronomers in the southern hemisphere and at low latitudes in the north should be able to see it.”
According to Florent Delefie, from the Paris Observatory, using a good telescope at least 20 centimeters in diameter it should be possible to see a white dot moving like a satellite.
Amazon-1: first ‘100% Brazilian’ satellite, launched into space
The trajectory has nothing to do with that of the shooting stars, which are small asteroids that form a luminous line that divides the sky in a fraction of a second.
Asteroids close to Earth
The category of asteroids considered to be potentially dangerous is “relentlessly pursued by astronomers around the world to make the most exhaustive inventory possible,” points out the Paris Observatory, recalling that the first and largest asteroid, Ceres, was discovered in 1801.
Best seller in the USA: book shows how breathing correctly can even ‘cure’ bronchitis and depression
Asteroid 2001 FO32 was first observed 20 years ago and has been the subject of close surveillance ever since. It belongs to the “Apollo” family of asteroids close to Earth, which surround the Sun in at least a year and can cross Earth’s orbit.
“Currently, little is known about this object, so this close passage gives us an incredible opportunity to learn a lot,” said Lance Benner, a scientist at NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory, to which CNEOS reports.
None of the large asteroids listed has a chance of colliding with Earth in the next century.
–
