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Following Tuesday’s historic historic touchdown on the asteroid Bennu, NASA has released unprecedented images of the OSIRIS-Rex spacecraft kicking rocks and debris off the surface of the spacecraft. (Credit: Storyful by NASA)
Los Angeles – The largest asteroid to pass through our planet in 2021 will be close to it on Sunday, giving astronomers a rare opportunity to see the huge rock formed at the beginning of our solar system.
The nearest Earth asteroid, called the 2001 FO32, will make its closest approach at a distance of about 1.25 million miles – the equivalent of 5/4 times the Moon’s distance from Earth, according to a NASA statement.
Found in 2001, the FO32 will pass at speeds of about 77,000 miles per hour, faster than most asteroids facing Earth, NASA said.
The reason for the asteroid’s unusually fast proximity is that it has a very inclined and elongated (or eccentric) orbit around the Sun, an orbit that tilts 39 degrees in an Earth-orbiting plane. As far away from the Sun as Mars is, NASA wrote. “2001 FO32 As it travels through its inner solar system, the asteroid accelerates a skateboarder halfway down the pipe, and then spreads back into deep space and back toward the sun. Slow down. “
Based on recent optical measurements, the FO32 is estimated to be approximately 1,300 to 2,230 feet wide, which is the smallest end of the scale, according to NASA. However, it will be the largest asteroid to reach our planet in 2021.
Thankfully, NASA has noted that there is no danger of a collision with our planet now or for centuries to come.
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“We know the orbit of the 2001 FO32 around the Sun very accurately, since it was discovered 20 years ago and has been discovered ever since,” said Paul, director of the Earth Ject Project Studies near the Center Four, operated by NASA Jet. Chodas said. Propulsion Laboratory in Southern California. “The planet is unlikely to come closer than 1.25 million miles to Earth.”
Still, the distances of the asteroids are astronomically close, which is why 2001 FO32 was labeled a “potentially dangerous asteroid.”
But Sunday’s pass will be a valuable scientific opportunity for astronomers.
“The March 21 encounter will provide astronomers with an opportunity to gain a more accurate understanding of the size of asteroids and the albedo (i.e. how bright or reflective its surface is) and its rough idea of its composition,” NASA wrote.
In addition, astronomers will study the spectrum of light emitted from the surface to measure the chemical “fingerprints” of minerals on the surface of asteroids.
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“We will use IRTF to get infrared spectrum to see its chemical makeup,” said Vishnu Reddy, an associate professor at the University of Arizona’s Laboratory for the Moon and Planets. “Once we know, we can compare meteors to Earth to find out what minerals are in the 2001 FO32.”
Despite the asteroid’s closest pass through Earth, the FO 32 will not come close to this until 2052, when it will pass about 1.75 million miles away.
Lance Banner, chief scientist at Jet Propulsion Laboratory, said that little is known about the object project at the moment, so a very close encounter provides an excellent opportunity to learn about the planet on a large scale.
