Two Large Asteroids Make Close Approaches to Earth Just 42 Hours Apart; NASA Captures Footage of Flyby

Two Large Asteroids Make Close Approaches to Earth Just 42 Hours Apart; NASA Captures Footage of the Flyby

(Photo : Getty Images/ Vndrpttn)

Scientists from NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) in Southern California have monitored two near-Earth asteroids as they zipped by Earth.

Footage of Near Asteroid Approaches

Astronomers kept a keen eye on two monster space rocks with the 230-foot-wide (70 meters) Goldstone Solar System Radar. Tucked into the remote Mojave Desert, California, the radar also measured the dimensions of both asteroids as they passed by Earth in late June.

The larger asteroid named 2011 UL21 was observed for nine days, while the smaller 2024 MK was targeted by the radar for three days. On June 3, NASA released the images it captured from the rare event that happened to coincide precisely to celebrate this year's Asteroid Day.

"A true near miss like this won't happen again for many decades," said Dr. Lance Benner, a planetary scientist at JPL. He added that this is providing them with the best opportunity to study the object's physical properties and obtain detailed images of near-Earth asteroids.

These two recent finds are particularly important insofar as we can measure the relative positions of the two asteroids in estimates of mutual orbits, masses, and densities, which could give hints as to how they were formed.

Neither of the two asteroids was threatening Earth. In any case, their discovery is one more argument for further enhancing our ability to identify potential hazards in our cosmic backyard.

Freaky Asteroids

Astronomers spotted asteroid 2024 MK exactly on the 16th of June with the help of NASA-funded ATLAS (Asteroid Terrestrial-impact Last Alert System) installed in South Africa. It was detected just 13 days before it came closest to Earth. It was said to be an elongated, angular asteroid, about 500 feet (152 meters) long.

According to the European Space Agency, an asteroid of this magnitude could cause severe damage. Its discovery just before it flies past our planet highlights the need to further improve the ability to detect and monitor potentially dangerous near-Earth objects.

Although NASA classified 2024 MK as a potentially hazardous asteroid, NASA JPL reported that calculations of its future motion show that it does not pose a threat to Earth for the foreseeable future.

The agency, however, did not speak on the late detection of the 2024 MK asteroid. The asteroid's orbit has now been altered by its incredibly close encounter with Earth's gravitational pull.

Meanwhile, due to its recent passing, the asteroid 2011 UL21 made its closest flyby to planet Earth in over a century. NASA JPL was able to identify it as this particular space rock because of its near miss on June 27.

Asteroid 2011 UL21 was nearly a mile (1.6 kilometers) in diameter and rocketed by planet Earth at 58,000 miles per hour during its flyby. It sojourns around the Sun every 1,130 days.

This giant space rock was seen with a moonlet orbiting about two miles from its surface. Deep Space Station 14 assisted in the discovery.

As mentioned by NASA JPL, 2024 MK and its moonlet to form a binary fall under the category of potentially hazardous. In fact, 2011 UL21 is classified to be a 'planet killer', a term defined to describe an asteroid able to cause damage on a continental scale.