Space agencies, like NASA, consider fast-moving objects that come within 7.48 million kilometers of Earth as ‘potentially hazardous.’
NASA and the U.S. Department of Defense cooperate and coordinate in monitoring thousands of space objects. These include debris, meteors, and asteroids, especially those that may pose a risk to Earth.
Recently, the space agency warned that an asteroid is approaching the Earth’s orbit. Reports noted, though, that it will not make an impact. So, there is no need to worry about the event.
The New York Post released a report on the matter, providing some information about the asteroid, as well as its movement nearing Earth.
Asteroid 4660 Nereus heads toward Earth
On December 11, Asteroid 4660 Nereus will skim past Earth. It will come within 7.40 million kilometers of the planet.
The space rock, which astronomer Eleanor Helin discovered in 1982, is a bit bigger than the Eiffel Tower. Reports may have deemed it “giant” in size, but officially, it is a small asteroid.
If it stays on course, it should reportedly pass by Earth at about 23,657 kilometers per hour. Moreover, NASA expects the asteroid to stay 3.86 million kilometers away from the planet.
The estimated figure is about ten times the distance between the moon and the Earth. But, while some may think that it is far away, experts said that it is “close as near-Earth asteroids go.”
NASA and Near-Earth Objects (NEOs)
Asteroid 4660 Nereus is not on a collision course with Earth. However, NASA, alongside other space agencies, consider it “potentially hazardous” as they do with all fast-moving space objects that come within 7.48 million kilometers of Earth.
This means that a minimal change in their trajectories could become a disaster for the planet, according to News AU.
Nevertheless, scientists track all Near-Earth Objects (NEOs). As clarified, they are anything that passes within 19.3 million kilometers of Earth.
The U.S.-based space agency reportedly updates its whole list constantly. This is to ensure the monitoring of NEOs whether they will potentially impact Earth.
DART: A venture into planetary defense
Asteroids impact Earth more often than most people think. They do not usually pose a threat, though, because they burn up upon entering the planet’s atmosphere.
Even so, there are many asteroids that may hurt the planet, like the one that wiped the dinosaurs nearly 70 million years ago. In response to this kind of threat, the DART mission recently emerged.
The Double Asteroid Redirection Test is the first venture of NASA into planetary defense. Its first mission, which launched last November 23, is to crash the DART spacecraft into a target asteroid to see whether the impact will effectively change its course.
Images courtesy of New York Post/YouTube