Following the safe pᴀssing of a terrifying 150-foot wide large asteroid, NASA has issued a warning for four additional asteroids.

One Asteroid After Another 

One Asteroid After Another A mᴀssive asteroid with a 150-foot diameter recently flew near by the Earth. NASA is preparing to launch the Artemis I spacecraft in order to be ready for a crewed flight test and potential future lunar exploration.

NASA reports that an asteroid with the designation 2022 2031 pᴀssed the Earth today at a distance of 3.32 million miles. Fortunately, this potentially hazardous asteroid did not pose a threat to Earth, but it seems that this quiet may not last for very long. NASA has issued a warning about four further asteroids that are hurtling toward the earth after this asteroid has pᴀssed past the Earth.

Which of these asteroid threats poses the greatest risk to the Earth? How can NASA recognise potentially hazardous asteroids? The smaller ones are still ᴅᴇᴀᴅly, particularly if they strike a densely populated area like a city, according to a list provided by NASA.

The space agency defines a potentially dangerous object or asteroid as one that arrives anywhere near Earth within 4.6 million miles (7.5 million kilometres) and is greater than 150 metres (492 feet) in width.

Asteroids Approaching Earth

Tomorrow, asteroid 2022 RK, which is 70 feet wide, will pᴀss the Earth quite closely. According to NASA, it will be within 2.24 million kilometres.

Asteroid 2022 QJ7: On September 5, an asteroid that is 82 feet broad and 3.52 million miles away from Earth will get closer to Earth.

A new asteroid, 2022 Qu5, measuring 97 feet across, will be on September 5. It is claimed to have a 4.57 million mile closest Earth approach.

Another hazardous asteroid, 2022 QC7, is expected to be 68 feet diameter and pᴀss by Earth at a distance of only 2.82 million miles during its closest approach.

Planetary Defense

Asteroid impact avoidance methods are used to steer NEOs (near-Earth objects) away from Earth and away from likely collision paths with it. 

Due to the sunlight-obstructing effect of the vast volumes of pulverised rock dust and other debris ejected into the stratosphere, a sufficiently big asteroid or other NEO would generate major tsunamis, many firestorms, and an impact winter depending on the location of the impact.

Protecting the planet from cosmic hazards requires early identification. Scientists advised a minimum of five to ten years of planning ahead for an effective defence against dangerous asteroids at the 2021 Planetary Defense Conference.

If astronomers find a dangerous asteroid, there are four ways to avoid a disaster. The first covers the evacuation and emergency response processes used locally. A spacecraft might also be sent to pᴀss by a tiny or medium-sized asteroid, gradually changing the asteroid’s orbit due to the gravity of the spacecraft. To change the course of a bigger asteroid, we may either slam something into it quickly or blow a nuclear bomb nearby.

NASA’s 2021 planetary defence budget was $158 million. Just 0.7% of NASA’s total budget and 0.02% of the projected $700 billion US military budget for 2021 are represented by this.

Reference(s): NASA