The US presidential election in 2020 was really a wild ride, right? Well, get stuck, because it’s not over yet.
NASA’s Center for Near Earth Object Studies has reported that six pieces of space rock will pass by our planet tomorrow, January 20, when the US celebrates the inauguration day – the day on which the newly elected president is vested with the powers of his office.
The agency says everything should be in order and that these meteorites will pass harmlessly. After all, we can all be forgiven after 2020 and the history of this election, while we wallow in skepticism and despair at the thought that they may not do so. We deserved it.
Friends in high places
The inauguration day marks the transition of power from one administration to the next – this year it means from the Trump administration to the Biden team. It is also the occasion on which four meteorites will fly close to the earth and we will hopefully miss completely.
According to NASA’s estimates, the nearest (asteroid 2021 BK1) will fly through the Earth at about the same distance that the moon orbits. They must therefore be fairly harmless. The largest of these is about 93 meters wide, which is the height of the Statue of Liberty.
All in all, we have to do well and miss through the space bricks. It is still close enough to be considered by NASA as a ‘close approach’, and the agency will closely monitor the asteroids and their traction. So let’s all hope for an unusual inauguration day.
More information about these asteroids here (all six asteroids listed for 2021-Jan-20 in the table).