NASA’s Planetary Protection Coordination Workplace is accountable for monitoring the skies and preserving a watch on numerous Close to-Earth Objects (NEOs). The group has issued a warning towards an asteroid designated as Asteroid 2023 OD5. It’s simply one of many 1,298,148 asteroids which were found thus far with the assistance of NASA’s superior floor and space-based telescopes and satellites and it will likely be making a detailed strategy to Earth quickly.
Asteroid 2023 OD5: Particulars
Asteroid 2023 OD5 is a Close to-Earth Asteroid (NEA) that’s anticipated to make its closest strategy to Earth at the moment, August 1. While this house rock will come very near the planet, it isn’t anticipated to affect the floor. In line with NASA, Asteroid 2023 OD5 will go by Earth at a distance of round 5.three million kilometers.
It’s already on its means towards the planet, travelling at a blistering velocity of 65714 kilometers per hour. Whereas this asteroid will go Earth by a really shut margin, it isn’t large enough to be referred to as a Probably Hazardous Asteroid. In line with NASA, Asteroid 2023 OD5 is sort of 150 toes extensive, making it virtually as huge as an plane!
The house company has additionally revealed that Asteroid 2023 NP belongs to the Aten group of asteroids, that are Earth-crossing Close to-Earth Asteroids (NEAs) with semi-major axes smaller than Earth’s. They’re named after the asteroid 2062 Aten and the primary of its variety was found by American astronomer Eleanor Helin at Palomar Observatory on January 7, 1976.
Safety towards asteroids
To counter the menace posed by asteroids, NASA has already carried out the primary check of its DART Mission for planetary safety in 2022. The house company crashed a spacecraft into an oncoming asteroid to efficiently divert it from its path, thus efficiently testing a technique of asteroid diversion. Furthermore, ESA has a mission in place referred to as NEOMIR that may act as an early warning system for asteroids 20 meters and bigger that can not be seen from the bottom.
Though NASA specialists declare that no asteroid is predicted to affect Earth for not less than the following 100 years, countermeasures for planetary protection are essential as they will help forestall the lack of life in case any asteroid strays in direction of Earth.
