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To discover, monitor and study asteroids in space, NASA has several space telescopes and ground-based observatories in place. These include the famous Hubble Space Telescope and the new James Webb Space Telescope. Moreover, spacecraft such as Dawn, OSIRIS-REx, and Hayabusa2 have also helped in studying these ancient space rocks. As of now, there are 1,298,210 known asteroids in space and while not all of them are dangerous, some of them can get knocked off their orbit due to interaction with a planet’s gravitational field such as Jupiter, and head towards Earth for potential impact. Therefore, it is imperative that these asteroids are continuously monitored to minimize the uncertainties around their close approach.
NASA has also revealed details about an asteroid that will pass the planet at a close distance soon. But will it impact? Read on to find out.
When will it pass Earth?
According to the data published by NASA CNEOS, an asteroid designated as Asteroid 2023 MR1 is approaching Earth at a ferocious speed and is expected to make its closest approach to the planet today, June 29.
How fast is it going?
This space rock is currently travelling towards Earth at 43515 kilometers per hour. It will come as close as 2.2 million kilometers, and while this distance might seem a lot, it is relatively a small number in astronomical distances, considering how big the asteroid is.
How big is it?
This is a 190-foot wide asteroid, which is comparable to an aircraft, NASA says! It has also been revealed that Asteroid 2023 MR1 belongs to the Apollo group of Near-Earth Asteroids, which are Earth-crossing space rocks with semi-major axes larger than Earth’s. These asteroids are named after the humongous 1862 Apollo asteroid, discovered by German astronomer Karl Reinmuth in the 1930s.
Process of naming asteroids
According to the European Space Agency (ESA), the process of assigning a provisional designation to an asteroid begins when a single observer detects it on two consecutive nights and then sends their findings to the Minor Planet Centre of the International Astronomical Union (IAU). The IAU assigns a provisional designation, which typically consists of a serial number like “2023 KT1”. The provisional designation includes the year of the asteroid’s discovery, followed by two letters that indicate the order of its discovery during that year.
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