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Updated:25/05/2022 10:12h
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A gigantic asteroid of almost two kilometers in diameter – or, what is the same, four times the size of the Empire State Building– will approach us next Friday, May 27. However, from the Center for Near Earth Object Studies (CNEOS) of NASA want to send a message of ‘calm’: despite having been classified as “potentially dangerous”, because its enormous size could cause catastrophic damage to the Tierrathe space rock will come within 4 million kilometers of here – ten times the average distance between Earth and Luna-, so instead of a headache, it will be a great opportunity for scientists to learn about these approaching objects and for astronomers to enjoy a unique spectacle.
baptized as 7335 (1989 JA), is the largest asteroid that will approach Earth this year. Scientists estimate that it travels at approximately 76,000 km/h (47,200 meters per second), about 20 times faster than a bullet. This asteroid is one of more than 29,000 near-Earth objects (known as NEOs) that NASA tracks each year. NEOs are any space object that passes within about 30 million miles of Earth’s orbit. Most of these objects are extremely small, from a few meters to centimeters; however, 7335 (1989 JA) is the exception due to its large size, with a wingspan of 1.8 km.
7335 (1989 JA) is also a type asteroid Apollo, the space rocks that orbit the Sun while periodically crossing Earth’s orbit. Astronomers know about 15,000 asteroids of this class and have calculated their trajectories for many of them. For example, the next time this rock comes close will be on June 23, 2055, and it will travel much farther: about 70 times further than the distance between Earth and the Moon. In fact, NASA is closely following other asteroids with much more potential to collide with us, such as Bennu, an asteroid about 500 meters in diameter that will approach our planet very closely on September 24, 2182. Or to (29075) 1950 DAanother asteroid with a diameter between 1 and 2 kilometers, and whose very close encounter on March 16, 2880 worries astronomers to some extent.
the plans of mankind
In the worst case scenario, with a huge rock heading our way, there is still hope. Various space agencies have proposed different plans to save the Earth. For example, NASA’s DART mission will crash a spacecraft into the Didymos asteroid system to see how much it could deflect such bodies. For its part, China has proposed sending several of its huge rockets Long March V to change the trajectory of Bennu himself. And there would still be other plans, such as pulverizing the asteroid ‘in extremis’ so that a much more innocuous and controllable ‘rain’ of rock would fall on Earth.
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