An Eiffel-Tower-sized potentially hazardous asteroid was reported to have made its close approach to Earth today. However, this should not be a cause of chaos as the rock was expected to have safely passed by.
Potentially Hazardous Asteroid 2006 HV5
Live Science reports that the asteroid 2006 HV5 made its closest approach to Earth at roughly 12:00 a.m. EDT. At that point, it was roughly 2.4 million kilometers away from Earth. This is equivalent to over six times the distance between the Earth and the Moon.
The Daily Record also adds that it was forecasted to fly by at a speed of 38,000 mph.
The asteroid 2006 HV5 is estimated to be around 1,007 feet wide, with a plus or minus margin of 249 feet. In comparison, the Eiffel Tower stands at a height of 1,082 feet.
According to NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL), this space rock was first found by the LINEAR (Lincoln Near-Earth Asteroid Research) program in April 2006 in New Mexico.
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What Makes This Space Rock 'Potentially Hazardous'?
The JPL notes that 2006 HV5 was classified as a potentially hazardous asteroid (PHA) as it closely approached Earth. However, its path through the Sun is quite established. The JPL also adds that asteroids as big as this rock closely approach Earth once a year.
As per Live Science, asteroids are classified into PHAs when they have diameters that span over 460 feet and if they reach as close as 7.46 million kilometers away from Earth. This distance is equivalent to 20 times the distance shared by the Earth and the Moon.
Currently, there are around 2,300 PHAs that are known. Live Science notes that the majority of these PHAs will "never come close" to reaching the Earth.
However, if these huge cosmic objects were indeed to come into contact with Earth, there could be grave damages.
Can the Course of Potentially Hazardous Asteroids Be Changed?
Given their possible risks, changing the course of these PHAs has been a study focus of astronomers. NASA's DART mission, or Double Asteroid Redirection Test mission, specifically, was dedicated to such planetary defense endeavors.
As part of the mission, the DART spacecraft directly smashed into the Dimorphos asteroid. As a result, the orbit of the asteroid was altered by roughly 33 minutes, according to NASA. The mission exhibited a technique for deflecting asteroids called "kinetic impactor." This simply means letting one thing smash into another.
The researchers note that the "successful autonomous targeting" of the asteroid is a vital step to coming up with technology based on the kinetic impactor, which could be viable for planetary defense.
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