Dangerous asteroid hurtling towards Earth! NASA issues warning | Tech News

Dangerous asteroid hurtling towards Earth! NASA issues warning

A dangerous 73-foot asteroid is hurtling towards Earth today at blistering speed. Will it impact Earth or just miss the planet? Read on to find out.

By: SHAURYA TOMER
| Updated on: Aug 31 2022, 17:51 IST
Asteroid fun facts in pics: NASA reveals all you need to know
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1/5 Space is full of objects, out of which only a few have been discovered. Asteroids are some of these objects. If you are not aware about the dangerous objects called asteroids, here are some facts you should know. First, did you know that asteroids are sometimes called minor planets? Well, they are. (Pixabay)
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2/5 Differences between an Asteroid, Comet, Meteoroid, Meteor and Meteorite: According to the information provided by NASA, Asteroid is a relatively small, inactive, rocky body orbiting the Sun. Comet is a relatively small, at times active, object whose ice can vaporize in sunlight forming an atmosphere (coma) of dust and gas and, sometimes, a tail of dust and/or gas. Meteoroid is a small particle from a comet or asteroid orbiting the Sun. Meteor is the light phenomena which results when a meteoroid enters the Earth's atmosphere and vaporizes, in short, a shooting star. While, Meteorite is a meteoroid that survives its passage through the Earth's atmosphere and lands upon the Earth's surface. (NASA)
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3/5 Asteroid: Size, frequency and impact- More than 100 tons of dust and sand sized particles are bombarded towards Earth everyday, according to NASA. While, about once a year, an automobile-sized asteroid hits Earth's atmosphere, creates an impressive fireball, and burns up before reaching the surface. Every 2,000 years or so, a meteoroid the size of a football field hits Earth and causes significant damage to the area. Only once every few million years, an object large enough to threaten Earth's civilization comes along. Impact craters on Earth, the moon and other planetary bodies are evidence of these occurrences. Space rocks smaller than about 25 meters (about 82 feet) will most likely burn up as they enter the Earth's atmosphere and cause little or no damage. By comparison, asteroids that populate the main asteroid belt between Mars and Jupiter, and pose no threat to Earth, can be as big as 940 kilometers (about 583 miles) across. (NASA)
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4/5 How is an Asteroid Orbit Calculated? An asteroid's orbit is computed by finding the elliptical path about the sun that best fits the available observations of the object. That is, the object's computed path about the sun is adjusted until the predictions of where the asteroid should have appeared in the sky at several observed times match the positions where the object was actually observed to be at those same times. (Pixabay)
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5/5 What is NASA doing to find and learn more about potentially hazardous asteroids and comets? NASA has established a Planetary Defense Coordination Office (PDCO), managed in the Planetary Science Division at NASA Headquarters in Washington, D.C. The PDCO ensures the early detection of potentially hazardous objects (PHOs) - asteroids and comets whose orbits are predicted to bring them within 0.05 Astronomical Units of Earth (5 million miles or 8 million kilometers) and of a size large enough to reach Earth's surface - that is, greater than approximately 30 to 50 meters. NASA tracks and characterizes these objects and issues warnings about potential impacts, providing timely and accurate information. NASA also leads the coordination of U.S. Government planning for response to an actual impact threat. (AFP)
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Asteroid flybys have become a frequent occurring this year with more than 40 asteroids passing by Earth in August alone. (Pixabay)

NASA' Planetary Defense Coordination Office has red flagged an asteroid named Asteroid 2022 QB8 which is expected to fly past Earth at an extremely close distance. According to NASA, the asteroid will pass Earth at a distance of just 7.2 million kilometers from Earth today, on August 31

If any Near-Earth Object (NEO) is at risk of Earth impact, NASA's Planetary Defense Coordination Office red flags and issues the alert. The Asteroid 2022 QB8 has also been red flagged by NASA. The Asteroid 2022 QB8 will fly past Earth today, August 31 at a distance of just 7.2 million kilometers from Earth at a staggering speed of 38,088 kilometers per hour.

These past months have seen a sudden increase in the frequency of asteroid flybys. However, people will be relieved to know that none of them will be any potentially “world-ending” asteroids. In fact, such an asteroid is not expected for at least a century or more.

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According to Davide Farnocchia of NASA's Near-Earth Object Studies Center, “A 2068 impact is not in the realm of possibility anymore, and our calculations don't show any impact risk for at least the next 100 years.”

Can asteroids be mined for resources?

Asteroids are generally made up of rocky minerals. They could come in handy when building structures in space, such as bases on other planets or even the Moon. Asteroids are usually composed of nickel and iron or silicate materials and nickel-iron. Due to their 85 percent metal structure, they could be an excellent source of minerals.

As of now, the exploitation of asteroids is not cost-effective. Since there is no Moon base or structure in space, it is extremely difficult to do so. However, the future applications of asteroid mining are immense and could one day, even become the primary source of metals and other raw materials on Earth.

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First Published Date: 31 Aug, 17:51 IST
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