Asteroids are most frequently roughly spherical, however they do are available all kinds of wierd sizes and styles. From asteroid Ryugu which is formed like a spinning high to asteroid Kleopatra which is bone formed, these chunks of rock orbiting the solar can vary in dimension from only a meter throughout to the dimensions of dwarf planets.
Now, there’s a brand new addition to the zoo of surprising asteroid shapes, as NASA not too long ago introduced it has noticed an asteroid that’s 3 times so long as it’s vast.
“Of the 1,040 near-Earth objects noticed by planetary radar thus far, this is likely one of the most elongated we’ve seen,” mentioned Lance Benner, principal scientist at NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory who helped lead the observations, in a assertion.
Referred to as 2011 AG5 for its discovery in 2011, the asteroid made an in depth method to Earth on February 3 which gave astronomers the chance to take a more in-depth look. Though there was no hazard of the asteroid impacting our planet, as a result of it handed simply 1.1 million miles away it got here shut sufficient for observations to be made utilizing the Goldstone Photo voltaic System Radar antenna dish, a part of NASA’s Deep Area Community.
These confirmed that the asteroid was lengthy and skinny and across the dimension of the Empire State Constructing at 1,600 ft lengthy and 500 ft vast. To the human eye, it will look like charcoal black, and its floor appears to be pitted with options every a number of meters throughout.
The observations additionally helped to refine the asteroid’s orbit; data which is utilized by the group which tracks asteroids that would come near Earth — NASA’s Middle for Close to Earth Object Research (CNEOS). It orbits the solar each 621 days and received’t go to Earth once more till 2040, however when it does it’ll come even nearer, at 670,000 miles from the planet. That’s nonetheless not shut sufficient to be any hazard however CNEOS might be maintaining a tally of it for the long run.
“Apparently, shortly after its discovery, 2011 AG5 turned a poster-child asteroid when our evaluation confirmed it had a small probability of a future affect,” mentioned Paul Chodas, the director for CNEOS. “Continued observations of this object dominated out any probability of affect, and these new ranging measurements by the planetary radar crew will additional refine precisely the place it will likely be far into the long run.”
Editors’ Suggestions
