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The half-size asteroid of Mount Everest will fly close to Earth next week, and an image shows the object ‘in a mask’ similar to the scientist watching it amid the coronavirus pandemic.
- An asteroid will pass 3.9 million miles from Earth on April 29.
- It was first seen in 1998 and is unlikely to collide with Earth.
- Experts who observed him said the asteroid appears to be wearing a face mask.
- The team is currently wearing masks to limit the spread of the coronavirus.
- Here we show you how to help people affected by Covid-19
An asteroid half the size of Mount Everest will fly across Earth next week, and astronomers have captured a photo of the object as it moves toward our planet.
The Arecibo Observatory in Puerto Rico took a radar image of the 1998 OR2 asteroid that will pass 3.9 million miles from us on April 29.
The team currently uses masks on the premises to limit the spread of the coronavirus and has compared the appearance of the object to themselves.
“TeamRadar and the NAIC Observatory staff are taking adequate security measures as we continue the observations,” reads a tweet,
“This week we have been observing the near-Earth 1998 OR2 asteroid, which appears to be wearing a mask!”
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An asteroid half the size of Mount Everest will fly across Earth next week, and astronomers have captured a photo of the object as it moves toward our planet. The Arecibo Observatory in Puerto Rico took a radar image of the 1998 OR2 asteroid that will pass within 3.9 million miles of us on April 29
The asteroid was first discovered by NASA in 1998, and is said to be “big enough to cause global effects” if it hit Earth, but the US space agency says it is highly unlikely.
The discovery came immediately after NASA installed “new, state-of-the-art data analysis and computing hardware that speeds up our search for near-Earth objects,” said NEAT project director Dr. Steven Pravdo of JPL. , it’s a statement.
The asteroid orbits the sun every 1,340 days, or 3.67 years, and completes one rotation about its axis every 4.11 days, CNN reported for the first time.
Astronomers estimate that the 1998 OR2 is between 1.1 and 2.5 miles (1.8 to 4.1 kilometers) wide, large enough that an impact could threaten human civilization. But, to repeat, there is nothing to fear here; the asteroid will miss us by a wide margin on April 29.
The team currently uses masks on the premises to limit the spread of the coronavirus and has compared the appearance of the object to themselves. ‘This week we have been observing the near-Earth 1998 OR2 asteroid, which appears to be wearing a mask,’ shared in a Tweet.
However, the European Space Agency (ESA) issued a warning last year that there are currently 878 asteroids at risk of hitting Earth in the next 100 years.
The agency added that the impact of even a small asteroid could lead to “serious devastation” and, to reduce the risks of a collision, ESA and several other groups have teamed up to search for asteroids.
They are also developing technology to deflect space rocks and will discuss possible tactics at various meetings across Europe.
ESA said: ‘This ESA catalog brings together all the asteroids we know of that have a’ ‘non-zero’ ‘probability of impacting the Earth in the next 100 years, which means that an impact, unlikely as it is, cannot be ruled out. ”
IS THE EARTH DUE TO A MAJOR ASTEROID IMPACT?
Researchers have discovered most asteroids that are about a kilometer in size, but are now on the hunt for those that are about 140 meters long, as they could cause catastrophic damage.
Although no one knows when the next major impact will occur, scientists have been pressured to predict, and intercept, its arrival.
Artistic representation depicted
“Sooner or later we will have … a lesser or greater impact,” said Rolf Densing, who heads the European Center for Space Operations (ESOC) in Darmstadt.
It may not happen in our lives, he said, but “the risk that Earth will be hit in a devastating event someday is very high.”
“For now, there is little we can do.”
Source: AFP
