NASA has issued a warning that a colossal asteroid, named 2013 WV44, is set to pass by Earth on Wednesday at approximately 9am BST. This massive space rock measures up to 524 feet (160 meters) in diameter, making it larger than iconic landmarks such as the London Eye and Big Ben. The asteroid will be hurtling through space at an astonishing speed of 11.8 km per second or over 26,000 miles per hour, which is roughly 34 times the speed of sound. Although it may seem like a cause for concern, this asteroid will remain at a safe distance of around 2.1 million miles away from our planet.
2013 WV44 falls under the category of near-Earth objects (NEOs), which are space rocks, typically asteroids, that come close to Earth. NEOs are defined as objects that come within 1.3 astronomical units (AU) or 120.8 million miles of the sun, and within 0.3 AU or 27.8 million miles of Earth’s orbit. Most NEOs are near-Earth asteroids (NEAs), although there are also near-Earth comets (NECs). These NEOs have been influenced by the gravitational pull of nearby planets, causing them to enter the vicinity of Earth.
Comets and asteroids are of great scientific interest because they provide valuable insights into the formation of our solar system billions of years ago. Comets, primarily composed of water ice with embedded dust particles, originated in the cold outer planetary system, while rocky asteroids formed in the warmer inner solar system between the orbits of Mars and Jupiter.
Although 2013 WV44 will be at a distance of 2.1 million miles from Earth, which is about nine times further than the moon, it is still considered a close approach in astronomical terms. NASA monitors and tracks NEOs like 2013 WV44 through its online tracker, which keeps a record of upcoming objects getting closer to our planet.
Fortunately, 2013 WV44 does not meet the criteria to be classified as a potentially hazardous asteroid, as it does not come within 0.05 astronomical units or 4.65 million miles of Earth, nor does it exceed 459 feet (140 meters) in diameter. However, it is worth noting that it could still come within our orbit. Earth’s “Hill sphere,” the region where its own gravity is the dominant force attracting satellites, has a radius of 932,000 miles or 0.1 AU. 2013 WV44 is expected to enter this Hill sphere at a distance of approximately 2.1 million miles or 0.02334 AU.
NASA has identified 32,254 known NEAs in our solar system, with the number increasing from 30,000 since last October. Among these NEAs, it is estimated that over 10,000 are larger than 460 feet (140 meters) in diameter, and nearly 1,000 are larger than 3,280 feet (1 kilometer) in diameter, highlighting the importance of closely monitoring these celestial bodies.
The largest known asteroid, Ceres, has a diameter of 580 miles (over 3 million feet), making it large enough for humans to inhabit. It is crucial to track and study these asteroids since, on average, Earth is hit by a rock the size of a football field every 5,000 years, and an asteroid capable of ending civilization every one million years.
To mitigate the potential threat of an asteroid collision, various methods have been proposed. These include multiple small impacts to alter the asteroid’s course, a nuclear explosion near the asteroid (although this may create smaller, dangerous fragments), ion beam deflection using thrust from a space probe’s thrusters, and the concept of a gravity tractor, which would rely on the gravitational field of the spacecraft to transmit a required impulse.
In recent years, NASA’s DART mission demonstrated the possibility of diverting an asteroid by deliberately crashing a spacecraft into it. This mission successfully hit the asteroid Dimorphos and served as a rehearsal for future scenarios involving potentially dangerous space rocks.
The field of planetary defense continues to develop and explore innovative methods to protect our planet from asteroid threats.
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