We have only known about asteroid 2023 BU since Saturday, January 21 - we've had five days warning. To view this video please enable JavaScript, and consider upgrading to a web browser that supports HTML5 video An amateur astronomer spotted 2023 BU How can we defend Earth against asteroids? And that's some relief, because that is where most of our communications and Earth observation satellites live these days. It is vital that the asteroid does not hit a satellite: Some GEO are used for TV communications, others are weather satellites.Īs the asteroid flew by Earth, it veered into what is known as medium-Earth orbit, but it did not get into the low-Earth Orbit zone, which is between 160 and about 2,000 km above Earth's surface. So asteroid 2023 BU will fly by these spacecraft as it gets closer to our planet. Geosynchronous satellites orbit at about 37,000 km from Earth. That is "well within" the orbit of geosynchronous satellites, said NASA. The asteroid got as close as 3,600 kilometers (2,200 miles) to our planet's surface. How close did the asteroid come to Earth? If any of it survives its interaction with the Earth's atmosphere, NASA said "some of the bigger debris potentially as small meteorites." What time did the asteroid pass Earth?Īsteroid 2023 BU flew over the southern tip of South America at about 4:29 p.m. They call it "small," but the asteroid is estimated to be 3.5 to 8.5 meters (11.5 to 28 feet) across. But even if it did, this small asteroid would turn into a fireball and largely disintegrate harmlessly in the atmosphere." The American space agency NASA had made it plain a day before Asteroid 2023 BU was due to fly by Earth: "There is no risk of the asteroid impacting Earth. Asteroid watchers got their calculations right - we can all relax.
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. ArchivesCategories |