Beijing time:2023-01-29 04:31
[NTD Times, Beijing time, January 29, 2023]The National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) stated that an asteroid the size of a truck passed the southern tip of South America on the afternoon of the 26th (Taiwan (Beijing) time on the morning of the 27th) In the sky, the distance to the surface is only 3,600 kilometers, which is closer than many artificial satellites in geostationary orbit.
The Central News Agency quoted Agence France-Presse as saying that according to NASA, the asteroid “2023 BU” recently discovered by amateur astronomers will be around 4:27 pm Pacific Standard Time on the 26th (8:27 am Taiwan Time on the 27th) Skimming over the southern tip of South America.
The asteroid will then be only 2,200 miles (3,600 kilometers) from Earth’s surface, closer than many satellites in geostationary orbit.
But NASA said in a statement yesterday that there is no risk of the asteroid hitting the Earth.
Even if it was risky, the asteroid, which is about 3.5 to 8.5 meters (11 to 28 feet) in diameter, would probably disintegrate in Earth’s atmosphere, probably resulting in only a handful of small meteorites.
Amateur astronomer Gennadiy Borisov (Gennadiy Borisov) just discovered the 2023 BU asteroid at an observatory on the Crimean Peninsula on January 21. NASA’s impact risk assessment system quickly determined that the asteroid would not hit Earth.
“Despite the very small number of observations, it was predicted that this asteroid will come very close to Earth,” said Davide Farnocchia, a NASA expert who helped develop the assessment system.
“In fact, this is one of the closest known near-Earth objects to Earth on record.”
The asteroid’s close proximity to Earth would cause its orbit around the sun to change significantly. NASA said that in the past, it took 359 days for an asteroid to orbit the sun, but this time it will take 425 days after it approaches the earth.
(Editor in charge: Lu Yongxin)
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