Astronomers found a new space rock shortly before it collided with Earth's atmosphere for the fifth time in history. It happened before they expected asteroid 2022 ES3 to make a "near approach" to Earth on March 13.
A mosaic image of asteroid Eros at its north pole, taken by the robotic NEAR Shoemaker space probe February 14, 2000 immediately after the spacecraft's insertion into orbit.
Astronomer Finds Asteroid Before It Impacted Earth
On March 11, astronomer Krisztián Sárneczky used the Schmidt telescope at Hungary's Piszkéstet Observatory to discover the asteroid 2022 EB5. According to the data obtained by Forbes, the space rock was likely around the size of a refrigerator, and it struck the atmosphere to the north of Iceland just a few hours later.
2008 TC3, 2014 AA, 2018 LA, and 2019 MO are the other asteroids that collided with Earth since their detection. All of them were discovered during the previous fifteen years, owing to advancements in technology and resources such as sky surveys that monitor the near-earth environment.
The impact was uncovered by sensors in Norway, designed to detect nuclear discharges. According to Peter Brown, an astronomer at Western University in Ontario, the following air burst has a total energy output comparable to nearly 2,000 tons of TNT.
About Asteroid 2022 ES3
An asteroid will make a safe flyby of Earth on March 13. Newsweek says asteroid 2022 ES3 will pass between the Moon and Earth at roughly 2.18 pm ET.
The Virtual Telescope Project will initiate a live stream of the asteroid's "extremely close, yet safe" approach with us on its WebTV page on Sunday, at 1:30 pm ET.
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"The Virtual Telescope Project will show it live, online, just at the flyby time. This way, you can join the journey from the comfort of your home," the project's founder Gianluca Masi wrote in a website statement. He is based in Ceccano, near Rome, Italy.
Because of its size, the asteroid is not deemed "possibly dangerous." According to NASA JPL's Small-Body Database, the asteroid has a diameter of 30 to 40 feet (10 to 22 meters).
According to Masi, the asteroid will come closest to Earth at a safe distance of around 87 percent of the usual distance between Earth and the moon. The moon is normally 384,400 kilometers (338,855 miles) away from Earth.
Reports also mentioned that the astronomers detected the asteroid on March 7 at Arizona's "Kitt Peak" National Observatory. The orbit and other facts regarding the asteroid's velocity and size have been disclosed publicly, as is customary with near-Earth asteroid discoveries.
According to Space.com, the Planetary Defense Coordination Office coordinates NASA's search for asteroids using partner telescopes and space surveys. While no immediate difficulties have been discovered, the government is testing asteroid protection technology as a precaution.
The DART probe, which weighs 1,210 pounds (550 kilograms), will collide with a tiny asteroid called Dimorphos in September or October. The goal is to alter this asteroid's orbit around Didymos, its bigger sibling.
If you want to detect asteroids like this one using a telescope or binoculars, check out our guide to the best binoculars and telescope offers right now. Our list of the top astrophotography cameras and lenses can also assist you in selecting the best image equipment.
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