The US National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) warned this week that a “potentially dangerous” asteroid is approaching planet Earth at an astonishing speed of 14,000 meters per second, nothing more and nothing less.
Most surprising of all is its imposing size. Scientists calculate that its diameter ranges between 100 and 300 meters , so that it could measure the same, or even more, than the well-known Golden Gate of San Francisco (227 meters).
The Center for the Studies of Objects Near the Earth estimates that the closest approach of the asteroid, baptized with the name of “Apollo 2021 NY1” will take place this Wednesday, September 22, 2021, at 4:42 p.m. in Spain).
But is there really a risk of the asteroid colliding with Earth ? The first thing to keep in mind are the criteria established by NASA to classify an astronomical object as “potentially dangerous”:
- Absolute magnitude: the absolute magnitude must be equal to or less than 22. In the case of “Apollo 2021 NY1”, its absolute magnitude is 21.51 M.
- Minimum intersection distance: the minimum intersection distance between the object’s orbit and that of the Earth must be less than 0.05 astronomical units, which is equivalent to 7,479,894 kilometers.
NASA has ruled out any risk of the “potentially dangerous” asteroid colliding with Earth . It is estimated that at the time of closest approach it will be 1,497,473 kilometers from our planet.
When will the asteroid Bennu get closer?
Another issue that NASA has in hand at the moment is the calculation of when the approach of the asteroid Bennu to Earth will take place . It is one of the astronomical objects with the highest risk of impact.
On September 24, 2135, it will pass 110,000 kilometers from Earth, and the probability of impact will be 0.037%. Meanwhile, based on the opinion of scientists, in the year 2300 the probability of collision will be 0.057%.
Although both estimates predict extremely low risk, it should be noted that they can vary over time. During the path of the asteroid Bennu, some phenomena may occur that divert it from its trajectory.
