In new news that is far from being described as apocalypticasteroid 2024 MK will pass close to Earth this Saturday night, at a distance equivalent to three quarters of the distance to the Moon.
The news means rejoicing for astronomers who will observe it in observatories with powerful telescopes, and for Astronomy fans who can see it with a small telescope. Experts say the asteroid will be best seen from the southern hemisphere, in an event that is described as occurring approximately every 25 years.
The space rock was first spotted two weeks ago by an observatory in South Africa and measures between 120 and 260 meters wide.
“Smaller objects constantly pass by the Earth. We will see a few of these throughout our lives, but not something that happens every day,” said Davide Farnocchia, an asteroid expert at NASA’s Center for Near-Earth Object Studies.
While fans will need a small telescope to observe it, as the rock is not bright enough to be detected with the naked eyethe excitement is total after sunset. But be careful, because you will have to make an effort to capture it: the object will move at high speed across the southern sky, which will make it difficult to observe.
“The asteroid will pass through that star field,” he said. Nick Moskovitz an astronomer at Lowell Observatory. Those in the Southern Hemisphere will have a better chance of seeing it, since it will appear higher up. Those in the United States may have to wait until Saturday night, when it will appear less bright but will be more easily seen without the interference of the blinding light of the Sun.
According to European Space Agency (ESA), The object will be 290.00 kilometers from the Earth’s surface, and they highlight that although there is no chance of it colliding with the Earth, an asteroid of that magnitude could cause “considerable damage.”
For this reason, the recent discovery demonstrates how important it is to continue improving the detection and monitoring of potentially dangerous objects.
Astronomers say that if you don’t get a chance to see it, there will be another one on April 13, 2029, when an asteroid called Apophis will pass by Earth and be visible to the naked eye from parts of Europe, Africa and Asia.
This week, asteroid (415029) 2011 UL21 was the largest of the visitors. At 2,310 m (7,490 ft) in diameter, this body is larger than 99% of all known near-Earth objects. However, it didn’t come that close to Earth. At its closest, on June 27, it was more than 17 times the distance of the Moon.
This asteroid’s orbit around the Sun has a steep inclination, something unusual for such a large object. Most large objects in the Solar System, including planets and asteroids, orbit the Sun in or near the equatorial plane.
This could be the result of gravitational interactions with a large planet like Jupiter. Jupiter can deflect previously safe asteroids toward Earth, so understanding this process is important.
ESA’s Planetary Defense Office is carrying out a number of projects dedicated to improving our ability to detect, track and mitigate potentially hazardous asteroids.
ESA’s Hera mission, launching later this year, is part of the world’s first test of asteroid deflection. Hera will conduct a detailed study of the Dimorphos asteroid following the impact of NASA’s DART mission in September 2022 and will help turn the experiment into a well-understood and repeatable planetary defense technique.
