by Jacob VanGundy | Published
Several asteroids will pass by Earth in the next few days, some of them coming alarmingly close in astronomical terms. These space rocks join several others that missed our planet on October 24. With such a high density of celestial objects passing by, it's clear why NASA keeps such close tabs on their orbits.
Five asteroids are on their way to Earth between now and October 28. NASA's observatory team is tracking them all, monitoring the paths of these potentially dangerous space rocks. The team uses an online dashboard that makes information such as the size, distance, trajectory, and date of the Earth transit available to the public.
One day, three Asteroids
October 26th will have a lot of activity in the coming days, with three asteroids passing by our planet. These meteors range from 64 to 110 feet in diameter, with the smallest one labeled “house size,” while the two largest rocks are labeled “plane size.” The smallest will come very close to Earth, which is 132,000 miles away at its closest point.
On October 27th and 28th, we will see one asteroid pass by each, including one near miss. On October 27, a space rock the size of an airplane will fly past Earth at a distance of 2.4 million miles. Another small bus-sized rock will be even closer, 148,000 miles away at its closest point.
A Busy Month for Asteroids
All of this activity comes after an even more active day, when four asteroids pass by Earth on October 24. The incoming rocks will be very close to Earth, and none come within 2.8 million miles on October 24. However, the space rocks on October 24 were huge. very, reaching the size of a large building, and the largest of them has an area of 580 meters.
Large asteroids like the one that passed by on October 24 are of great concern to scientists because they can cause major disasters. Large space rocks from the sky are called “city killers” because they can destroy an area of several miles if they hit our planet. More important are the “planet killers” large enough to disrupt the entire Earth.
Hang Up Calls
The two asteroids that passed 24 were particularly concerning because NASA discovered them less than a month before they passed. Tests have proven that rockets can be used to deflect dangerous space collisions, but those take time to prepare. Recent exercises designed to test the international response to these types of disasters have shown that the space community is not equipped to deal with these problems quickly.
The combination of so many potentially dangerous asteroids coming so close to Earth is scary, even if none of them are on a collision course with our planet. Now that scientists can reverse these collisions with rockets, it is more important than ever to monitor them carefully. It's still a while before one of these giant rocks is on a collision course with Earth, but if it's found soon it's a disaster we might be able to avoid.
Source: NASA
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