Asteroid 2014 JO25 (which was discovered by the Mount Lemmon Survey of Arizona – one of the best instruments for locating objects close to Earth – in May 2014) will pass very close to Earth on April 19. According to experts, it is 650 meters in diameter and measures 1.4 kilometers. It is, without a doubt, the object that has been closest to the Earth in the last decade – referred to this size. The previous such approach was with 4179 Toutatis in 2004.
The rock will pass at a distance of about five moons, that is, 1.8 million kilometers. Despite being classified as ‘potentially dangerous’ there is no danger of collision with our planet and it will not be that close to Earth again for about 480 years.
The Minor Planet Center, an organization of the International Astronomical Union, classifies all objects large enough to cause impact damage (the fall of a potentially dangerous asteroid could cause local catastrophes such as tidal waves) and with a potential orbit that brings it closer to the Land.
The next asteroids that will pass close to Earth will be: 1999 AN10, 800 meters in diameter, which will approach a lunar distance in August and 2012 TC4 which will do so during the month of October. Either way, the asteroids on this list (1,786 in March 2917) pose no threat to Earth for the next 100 years or more.
April 19, therefore, will be a very favorable time for observations of asteroid 2014 JO25 and will become one of the main targets of the 2017- asteroid radar.
Planning solutions
What if an asteroid’s orbit brings it dangerously close to Earth? Sooner or later, a large asteroid will hit Earth. Is there a contingency plan? For years, the US space agency together with the European Space Agency (ESA) have carried out a joint mission called AIDA ( Asteroid Impact and Deflection Assessment ) to verify the possibilities of changing the course of an asteroid.
Thus, the asteroid (65803) Didymos – about 800 meters in diameter – is one of those in the spotlight, as it will pass only 13 million kilometers from Earth in 2022. At that time, NASA plans cause a collision between a projectile launched from Earth and the small satellite of the asteroid Didymos – barely 150 meters in diameter – to slightly alter its orbit.
