CNN Indonesia
Wednesday, 03 Jan 2024 17:42 IWST
Illustration. NASA responds to rumors of an asteroid hitting Earth this year. (iStockphoto/Elenarts)
Jakarta, CNN Indonesia —
United States Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) reveals the facts about rumors asteroid giant will hit Earth in October 2024.
Previously, there were many rumors circulating that a giant asteroid almost the size of the Eiffel Tower would hit Earth in October 2024. This asteroid, called 2007 FT3, was said to release 2.6 billion tons of TNT energy if it hit Earth.
Asteroid 2007 FT3 is a real asteroid that was first discovered in 2007. This asteroid is also called a lost asteroid because it was only visible for 1.2 days, before finally disappearing from NASA’s observations.
For information, asteroid 2007 FT3 is 314 meters long, almost the size of the Eiffel Tower which is 330 meters high.
Even though it was only visible for a short time, NASA still managed to observe and calculate the orbit and potential impact point of this asteroid.
Thus, NASA’s Near Earth Object Study Center (JPL). identified 89 potential impacts, including one on October 5, 2024.
Even though it sounds worrying, there is actually nothing to worry about. The reason is, one potential point of impact, or where the asteroid should be closest to Earth, was in 2019. However, the impact did not occur.
Quoted from IFL ScienceNASA and other observatories track the orbits of objects found in the Solar System, with special attention to near-Earth objects (NEOs) 140 meters (460 feet) or larger that could cause destruction if they collided with Earth.
So far, astronomers can predict the orbits of known objects up to 100 years into the future.
The good news is that NASA says “no asteroids larger than 140 meters have a significant chance of hitting Earth over the next 100 years.”
Regarding rumors of the asteroid 2007 FT3, NASA said there was no threat of an impact for the next century.
“There is no threat of a known asteroid impact hitting Earth in the next century. NASA and its partners diligently scan the sky to find, track, and categorize asteroids and near-Earth objects (NEOs), including those that may come close to Earth,” a spokesperson said NASA.
“The important note here is that planetary scientists define an asteroid approach within 30 million miles of Earth’s orbit as a significant approach.”
NASA said that large objects are easy to detect and anticipate.
“The larger an asteroid, the easier it is for planetary defense experts to find it, which means that its orbit around the Sun is usually well known and understood for years or even decades,” NASA added.
(team/arh)
2024-01-03 10:42:06
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