Several news outlets have reported that a “lost” asteroid could hit Earth this year. If asteroid 2007 FT3 were to hit Earth, it would do so with an energy equivalent to 2.6 billion tons of TNT, but NASA has lost track of it and could hit Earth on October 5, 2024, according to the report. It is said that there is a sex. , given that everything sounds (to use the technical term) “not very good”, what’s actually going on?
Now, the 2007 FT3 is real asteroidfirst observed in 2007 and recognized by NASA. sentry risk table Number of objects that can affect the Earth.That’s also “”lost“Asteroid, just as seen.” 1.2 days before disappearing from NASA’s sight. The 314-meter-long (1,030-foot) asteroid has not been observed since it became too faint, but it was observed at 14 points in its arc during this two-day period, allowing astronomers to calculate its orbit and compare it to Earth and the asteroid. We were able to look for possible conflicts with In doing so, NASA’s Center for Near-Earth Object Research 89 potential impactsincluding October 5, 2024.
This may sound a little alarming, but it’s actually nothing to worry about. The potential impact point, where the asteroid was thought to be closest to Earth, occurred in 2019. As you may have noticed, this was not actually the case. NASA and other observatories track the orbits of objects found in the solar system, including “near-Earth objects” larger than 140 meters (460 feet) that could cause destruction if they intersect with Earth. We are paying particular attention to. So far, astronomers have been able to predict the orbits of known objects about 100 years into the future. The good news is that “no known asteroids larger than 140 meters in size have a significant chance of impacting Earth for the next 100 years.” NASA.
In particular response to the 2007 allegations about FT3, NASA reiterated its response.
“There is no known asteroid impact threat to Earth at any point in the next century. NASA and its partners discover, track, and classify asteroids and near-Earth objects (NEOs) that have the potential to approach Earth. “We are diligently observing the skies for this purpose,” a NASA spokesperson said. standard.
“The important point here is that planetary scientists define a close approach as an asteroid coming within 30 million miles of Earth’s orbit. The larger the asteroid, the easier it is for planetary defense experts to spot it. This means that their orbits around the sun are usually very well known and understood for years or even decades.”
If 2007 FT3 is discovered again in surveys of the skies or by astronomers trying to trace its path, we could learn more about its orbit, and perhaps find out more about its possible collision with Earth. This will give you enough information to remove it from your list. It’s heading in our direction, prepare a mission to divert it.