Two asteroids will pass close to Earth this week

One of these bodies, called 2024 MK, was discovered on June 16 and will approach our planet on the 29th at 290 thousand kilometers (km) from the surface, approximately 75 percent of the distance between the Earth and the Moon. .

2024 MK will be observable in dark, clear skies using a small telescope or good binoculars for amateur astronomers in some parts of the world.

NASA experts stressed that there is no risk of it impacting Earth, but warned that its recent discovery highlights the need to be attentive to these phenomena since an asteroid of this size would cause considerable damage if it were not foreseen.

“Its discovery just a week before it passes close to our planet highlights the constant need to improve our ability to detect and monitor potentially dangerous near-Earth objects,” the researchers acknowledged.

The second asteroid that will pass close by is (415029) 2011 UL21, which is currently considered larger than 99 percent of similar bodies near Earth.

Although it will not come as close to our planet, at its closest point scheduled for the next day, it will still be more than 17 times the distance that separates us from the Moon.

With a diameter of 2,310 meters, (415029) 2011 UL21 completes 11 revolutions around the Sun in almost the same amount of time in which the Earth completes 34 revolutions, that is, 34 years.

According to scientists, its orbit around the Sun is highly inclined, which is unusual for such a large object, which could be the result of gravitational interactions with the planet Jupiter.

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