An asteroid that is more prominent than a Boeing-747 is going clash with the orbit of the Earth next week. The Center for Near-Earth Objects of NASA stated. The space research institute is currently hunting a space rock called 2020 RK2, which is an asteroid that is now on the trajectory to come into contention with the orbit of the Earth on Wednesday, October 7. The asteroid officially called 2020 SX3, is heading towards Earth.
It is said to travel at a mind-blowing 10.88 kilometres per second, i.e., around 40,000 kilometres per hour. NASA says the space rock will fly by at a distance of 1.7 million kilometres; however, it is still close enough to be considered a near-Earth object (NEO). The asteroid will be most intimate to Earth on October 8.
NEO/Asteroid basics by NASA:
Near-Earth Objects or NEOs are comets and asteroids that have been touched by the attraction of gravity of close planets into orbits that allow them to access the Earth’s neighbourhood—comprised mostly of water, ice with embedded dust particles, comets formed in the cold outer planetary system. At the same time, most of the rocky space dust forms in the warmer inner solar system, which is roughly between the orbits of Mars and Jupiter.
The never-ending scientific interest in comets and asteroids is primarily due to their status as the relatively constant surplus detritus from the solar system creation some 4.6 billion years ago. Massive outer planets, i.e. Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus, and Neptune, formed from an agglomeration of billions of comets. The residual bits and pieces from this formation process are the comets we see now. Likewise, today’s asteroids are the chips and scraps leftover from the primary accumulation of the innermost planetoids that include Mercury, Venus, Earth, and Mars.
As the rudimentary, unused building blocks of the solar system formation process, comets and asteroids offer clues to the chemical structure from which the planetoids formed billions of years ago. If we wish to know the composition of the primordial compound from which the worlds developed. We must resolve the chemical elements of the leftover debris from this formation process.
Rare blue moon
While we’re talking about fashionable space stuff, this year’s Halloween resembles extra eerie with an exceptional lunar event set to sparkle the sky. The origin of the famous idiom – A Blue Moon – occurs when two full moons land in one calendar month. The marvel happens about once every two or three years.
The unfortunate news is that this asteroid is between 38 to 86 metres large, according to NASA – that’s roughly the size of three double-decker buses. The great information is that it should whirl past Earth with no possibility of a direct hit. However, a Blue Moon on Halloween Day is a much more extraordinary, and spookier, event. This is going to take place the first time in 19 years. Stargazers will see an exceptional Blue Moon on October 31.
The rare nightly satellite won’t show up again until August 31, 2023. And not again on Halloween again until the year 2039. Notwithstanding the name, the lunar attraction does not glow blue. One can see the Blue Moon if they dwell in Western Australia. Those who thrive in the central and eastern parts of Australia will miss out.
However, for further details, you can live stream the event here NASA Live.
Read More: NEOs That Past Recently Were Closer Than The Moon!
