In one of the closest asteroid encounters ever recorded, an object the size of a delivery truck will pass Earth at a distance less than a tenth of the average distance between Earth and most communication satellites.
Earlier today, Nasa announced that the recently discovered asteroid would fly by within 2,200 miles (3,600 km) of the southern tip of South America around 7.27 p.m. US eastern time on Thursday (12.27 am GMT, 11.27 am AEDT on Friday).
According to Nasa, there was a 0% likelihood of impact with Earth. Most of it would burn up in the atmosphere even if it came much closer, experts say, while larger fragments might fall as meteorites. Hayabusa, an unmanned spacecraft, travels to Itokawa. Asteroid’s 4.2bn-year-old space dust may contain the answer to avoiding catastrophic Earth-impacts.
Asteroid 2023 BU Space Rock Passes Closer Than Some Satellites
The space rock, designated 2023 BU, sped past the southern point of South America at around 02:30 UTC. It was about the size of a minibus. The nearest distance was 3,600 kilometres (2,200 miles), which is very close. It also serves as an example of the fact that there are likely larger asteroids hiding in the area close to Earth.
Amateur astronomer Gennadiy Borisov of Nauchnyi, Crimea (which Russia annexed from Ukraine in 2014) just noticed this one over the weekend. The size and, most importantly, the orbit of 2023 BU have both been refined thanks to further observations.
That’s why astronomers were so sure it wouldn’t hit Earth, despite the fact that it passed within the orbit of Earth’s communications satellites (which are located 36,000 kilometres, or 22,000 miles) above us. Your chances of colliding with a satellite are astronomically low. Thursday at 19:27 EST (Friday at 00:27 GMT) was determined to be the time of lowest altitude.
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How Likely We Are To Be Hit By An Asteroid?
We need not be concerned, as it is likely that all of the truly monstrous objects in the universe have already been discovered and catalogued. However, when you scale down to an object with a diameter of only 150 metres, we have some holes in our stock.
About 40% of these asteroids have been spotted and evaluated for potential danger, according to the statistics. If one of these objects fell to Earth, it would cause widespread destruction on the scale of a metropolis.
How likely are we to be hit by an asteroid? pic.twitter.com/aio7Kvh89e
— m a (@MoAhmed93) September 26, 2022
According to Professor Don Pollacco of the University of Warwick in the United Kingdom, as yet undiscovered asteroids continue to intersect Earth’s orbit. The newly discovered object 2023 BU is said to be about the size of a school bus and has presumably circled the Earth hundreds of times. This time it comes within 2,200 miles of Earth, less than one percent of the distance to the moon.
Depending on its make-up, 2023 BU probably won’t hit Earth’s surface and will instead burn up in the atmosphere as a spectacular fireball, brighter than the full moon.
“However, many experts believe we may be due such an event. There are undoubtedly numerous asteroids out there that remain unknown that may enter the atmosphere and impact the surface, causing considerable devastation.”
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