An explosion with the power of 150 Hiroshima bombs could leave an apocalyptic scenario on Earth in 2022. In 2012, much was made of the end of the world, but it seems that according to NASA, it could happen ten years later, that is, next year.
Is this what the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA, for its acronym in English) defined as “potentially dangerous” to asteroid 2009 JF1, as it can affect the earth on March 6, 2022 at 08:34, as reported by the space agency, although it also estimates that the probability of impact is 1 in 3 800 (0.026%).
The date set for the collision was specified after the comprehensive observation of the asteroid by a collision monitoring system of the US space agency that classifies objects near the planet according to their size, speed, dimensions and year in which they are believed to have the impact. happen.
This space rock is considered ‘potentially dangerous’ by NASA qualified as a Near Earth Object (NEO), which means that it is close enough to be considered a threat to the earth. Asteroids are celestial bodies that move in orbit, whether low or significant eccentricity around the sun, and whose slopes may be at the elliptical angle.
“Some asteroids and comets follow orbiting orbits that bring them much closer to the sun than usual and therefore to Earth,” NASA explained in a statement. These asteroids are constantly being NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory, using an automated system called Sentry. This system succeeds in measuring a large amount of data with which we can determine, for example, that 2009JF1 is an Apollo asteroid, that is, its orbit around the sun is larger than the earth.
According to NASA, ‘Wagwag is a highly automated collision monitoring system that continuously scans the latest asteroid catalog for possible future impact on Earth for the next 100 years. When a potential impact is detected, it will be analyzed and the results published immediately here, except in rare cases where we seek independent confirmation. It is normal for objects to disappear from this table if there are additional observations available, if there are no more possible consequences. For this reason, we keep a list of removed objects with the date of elimination ”.
Asteroid 2009 JF1 is currently 375 587 595 km from the planet, which approaches us 18 km every second. It flies past the earth at an incredible speed, at 65,293 kilometers per hour. The Space Agency looked at it through Sentry in 2009 and estimated it to be about 13 feet in diameter. Its impact on Earth could cause an explosion equivalent to 230 kilotons of dynamite. You have to calculate that the Hiroshima bomb had only fifteen kilotons of power.
Although the probability of a collision is very low, smaller rocks that usually accompany the spatial body can penetrate our atmosphere and burn into it as they descend to the ground, creating meteors and meteorites that we often see as starbursts in the night sky.
Missions to attack or divert asteroids
Space agencies are currently developing missions to attack these asteroids that pose a threat to the planet and could distract them from their path.
This is the case with the DART spacecraft, which will be launched in mid-2021 with the aim of colliding with Dimorphos, one of the most dangerous asteroids on Earth due to its properties. DART is part of NASA’s Hera mission in collaboration with the European Space Agency (ESA).
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