2024 MK: A giant asteroid, discovered just a week ago, is approaching Earth. And it’s so big you can see it.
Two large asteroids will pass Earth this week, an unusual event perfectly timed to coincide with this year’s Asteroid Day celebrations, but don’t panic. None of them will harm our planet.
The European Space Agency (ESA) clarified that “neither of them poses any danger to our planet, but one of them was discovered just a week ago, highlighting the need to continue to improve our ability to detect potentially dangerous objects in our cosmic environment. »
We will tell you everything about this event, which you can enjoy at first sight.
What do asteroids that will pass close to Earth’s orbit look like?
One of the asteroids, dubbed 2024 MK, measures between 393 and 853 feet and was discovered on June 16, 2024.
Asteroid 2024 MK is large for a near-Earth object and will pass at a distance of 180,197 miles from Earth’s surface, which is about 75% of the distance between Earth and the Moon, ESA explains.
While the asteroid will not impact Earth, an object this size “would cause significant damage if it did, so its discovery just a week before it passes close to our planet highlights the ongoing need to improve our detection and potential monitoring capabilities ” dangerous near-Earth objects,” ESA reiterates.
Another asteroid is surprising experts with its size, as it is 99% larger than any other object that has previously approached Earth.
This is asteroid (415029) 2011 UL21, the largest visitor of the week. It is 7,578 feet in diameter. Fortunately, it will not come that close to Earth and will be more than 17 times farther from the Moon.
The asteroid’s orbit around the Sun is highly tilted, which is unusual for such a large object. “Most large objects in the Solar System, including planets and asteroids, orbit the Sun in or near the equatorial plane,” ESA explains.
When will asteroids pass near Earth?
The first guest this week will be asteroid (415029) 2011 UL21, which will pass at its closest point to Earth this Thursday.
According to ESA, (415029)2011 UL21 is in resonance with the Earth at 11:34, that is, it makes 11 orbits around the Sun in almost the same time it takes the Earth to make 34 orbits, that is, 34 years.
“The result is a good repeating pattern when viewing the asteroid’s position relative to Earth over 34 years, while Earth remains stationary,” the statement said.
And asteroid 2024 MK will pass Earth on June 29, in the midst of this year’s Asteroid Day events.
Because of its size and proximity, amateur astronomers will be able to observe 2024 MK in clear, dark skies on June 29 with a small telescope.
Will humanity be able to stop the fall of an asteroid?
According to the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA), stopping the fall of an asteroid heading towards Earth is possible.
This week, the space agency held a rehearsal for the catastrophic event in which humanity would face such a situation.
“NASA’s Planetary Defense Coordination Office, in collaboration with the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) and with assistance from the U.S. Department of State’s Office of Space Affairs, organized a tabletop exercise to inform and evaluate our ability as a nation to respond. effectively counter the threat of a potentially hazardous asteroid or comet,” NASA said in a June 20 statement.
According to NASA, while there are no known major asteroid impact threats in the foreseeable future, “what if” exercises provide valuable insight by exploring the risks, response options, and opportunities for cooperation created by scenarios ranging from minor regional damage with little warning to potential global catastrophes projected years or even decades into the future.
“The uncertainty of these exercise initial conditions allowed participants to consider a particularly challenging set of circumstances,” said Lindley Johnson, planetary defense officer emeritus at NASA Headquarters in Washington. “A large asteroid strike is potentially the only natural disaster that humanity has the technology to predict years in advance and take action to prevent,” the statement said.
During the exercise, participants examined possible national and global responses to a hypothetical scenario in which a previously undetected asteroid was identified that, according to initial calculations, had a 72% chance of impacting Earth in approximately 14 years.
The exercise was the first to use data from NASA’s DART (Double Asteroid Redirection Test) mission, the first space demonstration of technology to protect Earth from potential asteroid impacts.
The asteroid passed very close to the Earth: the expert assures that it was “100 times closer than the Moon”