NASA’s Center for Near-Earth Object Studies (also known as CENOS) has announced that an asteroid classified as 2020 EF could pass by Earth soon. It is too small to crash into the surface since it will burn in the atmosphere, but it may cause airbursts.
The asteroid is following a trajectory that will lead it straight to Earth as it travels at a speed of 10,000 miles per hour. Researchers have an estimated diameter of 98 feet. Observations have revealed that the asteroid is a part of the Aten asteroid class. Their orbits of asteroids included in this class tend to come close or even intersect with that of Earth.
After 2020 EF passes by Earth, a new asteroid will approach Earth. 2020 DP4 is more massive and moves at a faster pace, but it has not been classified as a risk for now.
More about 2020 EF Asteroid
Since 2020 EF is quite small, it is thought that it will burn out in space, but it may release a powerful shockwave that could damage buildings in the nearby area. Such an event took place over the city of Chelyabinsk in Russia. In the aftermath of a mighty explosion, thousands of windows were cracked or broken, and some of the people who witnessed the event required medical help.
Many governments and space agencies have started to take the risk of asteroids into account in recent years, with several projects being developed in the name of planetary defense. Several movies and novels have shown how human ingenuity could destroy massive asteroids that were on a collision course. Still, many of those so-called solutions cannot be implemented practically.
NASA is currently working on a kinetic impactor, which is represented by a heavy and fast ship that could crash into a targeted asteroid with enough power to force it to change its trajectory.
Source: techtimes.com
Doris’s passion for writing started to take shape in college where she was editor-in-chief of the college newspaper. Even though she ended up working in IT for more than 7 years, she’s now back to what he always enjoyed doing. With a true passion for technology, Doris mostly covers tech-related topics.