Our solar system is the most notorious asteroid will pass by Earth on Friday (March 5), and with a high telescope you can watch it as it whistles safely through our planet.
We’re talking about none other than asteroid 99942 Apophis, which will come even closer to Earth on April 13, 2029 when it passes through the zone of high satellites. But even then, Apophis will not strike the earth as some have predicted; let’s focus instead on the science that comes out of these flybys.
The nearby Earth asteroid is about 300 meters wide and was discovered in 2004. Initial early estimates suggest that Apophis has little chance of hitting Earth in 2029, but scientists ruled out the possibility after looking at archival footage. NASA said.
Related: Scientists prepare for their last good look at asteroid Apophis before 2029
Although the planet is not in danger, scientists will still appreciate the rare flying planes in 20210 and 2029 to look at the shape of the asteroid – and perhaps even surface features in 2029 – in our ongoing study learn more about asteroids, which existed early in the history of the solar system (our environment came together about 4.5 billion years ago).
Apophis’ nearest approach Friday will be at 0.11 astronomical units (an astronomical unit is the average distance between the earth and the sun, or about 150 million kilometers). While the fly is close in astronomical terms, Apophis will remain at a distance of 44 times the distance between the earth and the moon.
Personal telescopes can struggle to see Apophis because of its faintness, as it only has a visual size of about 15 or 16. according to EarthSky. You need a 12-inch-diameter or larger telescope to see it visually, or to equip a slightly smaller telescope with a sensitive camera to process the images for later viewing.
Your best chance to see it may be early on Saturday (May 6), when Unistellar Optics is coordinating a civil science campaign to observe Apophis at the time it comes closest to Earth. From the perspective of viewers in parts of the US, between about 12:55 EST and 01:04 EST (0555 GMT and 0604 GMT), Apophis will pass in front of a star. The broad cattle terrain where the opportunity will be visible, stretches through Montana, Wyoming, Colorado, Kansas, Oklahoma, Texas, Arkansas and Louisiana, and perhaps also some border areas. A map and more details on calibrating a Unistellar eVscope are available in a company blog blog.
Scientists like to use these nearby flight paths to scan space rocks with radar to learn more about the shape and rotation of asteroids. Unfortunately, Earth’s most powerful radar system is permanently offline, as the Arecibo Observatory Radio Telescope in Puerto Rico collapsed in December and is being dismantled.
The interim replacement is that of NASA Goldstone Deep Space Communications Complex in California, which would begin observing the asteroid on Wednesday (March 3) and continue until March 14. The space-based asteroid hunt NEOWISE mission could also spot the asteroid later in April, Chief Investigator Amy Mainzer told Space.com.
“I hope we can get some details about the surface roughness, the thickness of any rocks and dust on the surface of the object,” Mainzer said. said earlier this monthand added that the data came from the combination of NEOWISE observations collected in December 2020 and April 2021. “It can help us learn a little more about it, if we are very happy,” she added.
While Apophis is not a threatening threat to Earth, scientists are performs a planetary defense scenario pretending to have spotted it in the air only in December to prepare for a possible situation in the future. But you can rest easy, because there are currently no imminent threats to Earth known – and NASA and its partners continue to scan the sky and practice disaster management, just in case.
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