Florida, United States.
The largest asteroid approaching The earth in 2021 will pass about two million kilometers away on Sunday, March 21, without collision risk, but will allow astronomers take a closer look at this heavenly object.
Named 2001 FO32 and less than a kilometer in diameter, it will become 124,000 km / h, “Faster than most asteroids “ circulating near the Earth, according to GODMOTHER.
“There is no risk collision with our planet “, explained the US space agency. To your point of closer approximation, the asteroid will still be more than five times larger to the one between Earth and Moon.
A separation considered, however, close enough to be classified as “Potentially dangerous”, according to the official categories.
The asteroid, known as God of chaos, was discovered in March 2001 and trajectory eit has been pursued ever since then.
“Currently, we know little about this object, so this very close meeting gives us an incredible opportunity to learn a lot,” said Lance Benner, a scientist at NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory. for Nearby Object Studies. The Earth (CNEOS).
Studying the light reflected by her surface, Researchers will be able, for example, to get a better idea of its composition.
“Amaterus astronomers in the southern hemisphere and low northern latitudes should be able to see this asteroid using telescopes of moderate size, “said CNEOS Director Paul Chodas, quoted in a statement.
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None of the large asteroids cataloged have options for collide on Earth in the next century and it is very unlikely that the undiscovered will be able to do so, NASA said.
Despite all this, he adds, “how much information can we gather about objects, mission designers can be better prepared to bring them down if someone ever arrives threatens the Earth. “