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<ul class="summary-list"><li>NASA conducted a new tabletop simulation of <a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/potentially-hazardous-asteroids-fly-by-earth-this-week-watch-live-2024-6">discovering a large asteroid headed for Earth</a>.</li><li>Experts feared Congress wouldn't fund a mission to an asteroid with a 72% chance of impacting Earth.</li></ul>NASA recently brought together about 100 experts to <a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/nasa-simulated-asteroid-couldnt-stop-impact-europe-2021-5">pretend that an asteroid was heading for Earth</a>.The tabletop <a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/nasa-asteroid-impact-simulations-difficult-to-stop-2021-5">simulation presented a hypothetical scenario</a> in which cities like Dallas, Washington, DC, and Madrid were at risk of a large asteroid impact."A <a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/adam-driver-asks-nasa-save-earth-from-world-ending-asteroids-2023-3">large asteroid impact</a> is potentially the only natural disaster humanity has the technology to predict years in advance and take action to prevent," Lindley Johnson, a NASA planetary defense officer emeritus, said in a press release.But it wasn't clear that they could prevent such a catastrophe — even with 14 years to figure it out.The simulation revealed that <a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/moon-missions-why-astronauts-have-not-returned-2018-7">technology wasn't the problem</a> that could ultimately doom a city, region, or entire country. It was politics.<div type="image" title="Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell and Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer at the Capitol on December 12, 2023." height="1500" width="2000" msid="111347083" hostid="261"></div>"I know what I would prefer [to do], but Congress will tell us to wait," one participant said of their asteroid-response plan, in a selection of anonymized comments in NASA's summary of the exercise, published on June 20."The most important item of the morning was the discussion involving the political nature of the decision-making," another participant said.<h2 id="fff0e374-634e-421c-bed3-007449857a08">Congress may not move fast enough</h2>NASA has conducted nearly a dozen tabletop simulations since 2013. This one happened in May and included participants from the US State Department, FEMA, and the space agencies of Europe, the UK, Japan, and Canada.<div type="image" title="large conference room with long desks full of people in suits sitting at laptops and looking at a large presentation screen with a person at a podium presenting" height="900" width="1634" msid="111347084" hostid="261"></div>Past exercises showed that, in order to save the world, NASA would need at least <a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/nasa-asteroid-simulation-reveals-need-years-of-warning-2021-5">five years' notice that an asteroid was headed toward us</a>, maybe even 10 years.This time the simulators learned that, even when they had plenty of time, they might not be able to launch their preferred anti-asteroid offensive.That's because they didn't think Congress would approve funding for a critical space mission to study the asteroid "unless impact became certain," NASA's summary said.A major part of the simulation was figuring out how to impress the "seriousness" of the situation upon Congress and other leadership, Johnson said.What's more, the 14-year timeline spanned multiple budget cycles and presidential elections. At any of those junctures, the president, Congress, or NASA's own leadership could change priorities and disrupt the asteroid plan.<h2 id="16c29872-b78b-4870-bb8a-e51b843db37f">The most likely incoming asteroid scenario</h2>Here are the hypothetical conditions the participants were given in this year's exercise: Scientists have determined a 72% chance of this asteroid impacting Earth in 14 years. It could strike anywhere across a swath of North America, Europe, Africa, and the Middle East.The asteroid's size was unclear. It could be anywhere from 60 to 800 meters (half a mile) wide — possibly big enough to devastate an entire country.All that uncertainty made this "a very realistic scenario," Richard Binzel, a planetary scientist at MIT who specializes in potentially hazardous asteroids, but did not participate in the simulation, told Business Insider."In fact, it's the most likely type of scenario we will face, where an asteroid is discovered and we have limited information," Binzel said.Options for preventing an asteroid impact include shooting the asteroid with lasers, launching a nuclear bomb at it, or simply smacking a space probe into it to nudge it away from Earth.NASA has tested one of those options in a <a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/nasa-crashes-dart-spacecraft-into-asteroid-to-test-planetary-defense-2022-9">mission that punched an asteroid</a> and dramatically changed its path in 2022, just to prove the technique could work.<div type="image" title="sequence of images showing asteroid from a distance then close up then video cutting out" height="1000" width="2000" msid="111347087" hostid="261"></div>In the simulation, experts wanted more information to understand their anti-asteroid options.Unfortunately, the fictional space rock was about to <a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/comet-neowise-surprise-appearance-earth-unprepared-for-asteroids-2020-7">pass behind the sun and disappear</a> from view for seven months. To avoid wasting precious time, scientists would have to send a spacecraft to the asteroid to learn more about it.That's where they feared politics would get in the way. Participants weren't sure Congress would fund the mission unless the asteroid was a certain threat — not a 72% chance of threat.So far, NASA has not discovered any large asteroids on track to impact Earth.But scientists have identified fewer than 11,000 near-Earth asteroids that are at least 140 meters (460 feet) wide — big enough to crush a city. They believe there are 15,000 of them in our vicinity, meaning more than a quarter of city killers remain undiscovered.<h2 id="8dbc0625-4426-4bc0-ba2d-99b4f3dc63a5">NASA could plan a mission just in case</h2>Binzel says NASA could get political and bureaucratic barriers out of the way now, before any asteroid threats are identified, by developing a reconnaissance mission to have on standby."It's an adult thing to do that can protect us from becoming surprised," he said.The National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine made a similar recommendation in its last decadal survey of planetary science priorities.In that 2022 <a target="_blank" href="https://nap.nationalacademies.org/resource/26522/interactive/">report</a>, the Academies said that NASA should "develop an approach for a rapid-response, flyby" spacecraft to closely study newly-discovered threats. That way, it could launch a reconnaissance mission in less than three years if it became necessary. The Academies also recommended a demonstration to practice reconnaissance on a real asteroid.So why isn't NASA working on that right now?"It's not in the budget," Binzel said.First NASA has to make a proposal for such a mission, with a thumbs up from the White House, and then Congress would have to authorize and fund it."If there's an asteroid out there with our name on it, it's already there," Binzel said. "Fortunately, the chance in the next century or so is incredibly small. But it's not zero."

NASA simulated an incoming asteroid impact, and the biggest roadblock to action was penny pinching

<ul><li><keyword id="9840459" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="20" keywordseo="asteroid-11-es4">Asteroid 11 ES4</keyword>, which is approaching the Earth will be closer to the planet than even the Moon on September 1. </li><li>This will be the asteroid’s closest proximity to the planet till date.</li><li>The next asteroid who will get this close to Earth will only show up 12 years down the line</li></ul>Many asteroids come and go but most keep their distance from Earth as they fly past. Now one daring asteroid is set to come closer to the planet — closer than even the Moon on September 1. Officially recognized as <a href="https://ssd.jpl.nasa.gov/horizons.cgi?find_body=1&amp;body_group=sb&amp;sstr=2011%20ES4">Asteroid 11 ES4</a>, the space rock will be a mere 121,000 kilometers (kms) from Earth as it shoots past the planet next week. The moon, on the other hand, is three times further away at 384,400 kms. In fact, Asteroid 11 ES 4 will be the only near-Earth object to venture in this close for another decade. Only in 2032 will another asteroid — <a href="https://ssd.jpl.nasa.gov/sbdb.cgi?sstr=2008%20DB">2008 DB</a> — come within the same distance of Earth. Not only is this a milestone for the planet, but it’s also the asteroid’s closest encounter to Earth till date. The Jet Propulsion Laboratory (<a href="https://ssd.jpl.nasa.gov/sbdb.cgi?sstr=2011%20ES4;old=0;orb=0;cov=0;log=0;cad=1#cad">JPL</a>) database shows that the asteroid has made eight close approaches since 1987 but none as intimate as next week. Before its fly by next week, Asteroid 11 ES 4’s closest approach to Earth was on 13 March 2011, which is when it was first spotted by astronomers and catalogued. Asteroid 11 ES 4’s closest approach <table style="border-width: initial; border-style: none; width: 468pt; table-layout: fixed;"></colgroup><tbody><tr><td style="border-left:solid #000000 1pt;border-right:solid #000000 1pt;border-bottom:solid #000000 1pt;border-top:solid #000000 1pt;vertical-align:top;padding:5pt 5pt 5pt 5pt;overflow:hidden;overflow-wrap:break-word;">Date </td><td style="border-left:solid #000000 1pt;border-right:solid #000000 1pt;border-bottom:solid #000000 1pt;border-top:solid #000000 1pt;vertical-align:top;padding:5pt 5pt 5pt 5pt;overflow:hidden;overflow-wrap:break-word;">Distance from Earth </td></tr><tr><td style="border-left:solid #000000 1pt;border-right:solid #000000 1pt;border-bottom:solid #000000 1pt;border-top:solid #000000 1pt;vertical-align:top;padding:5pt 5pt 5pt 5pt;overflow:hidden;overflow-wrap:break-word;">10 September 1987 </td><td style="border-left:solid #000000 1pt;border-right:solid #000000 1pt;border-bottom:solid #000000 1pt;border-top:solid #000000 1pt;vertical-align:top;padding:5pt 5pt 5pt 5pt;overflow:hidden;overflow-wrap:break-word;">20,368,150 kms </td></tr><tr><td style="border-left:solid #000000 1pt;border-right:solid #000000 1pt;border-bottom:solid #000000 1pt;border-top:solid #000000 1pt;vertical-align:top;padding:5pt 5pt 5pt 5pt;overflow:hidden;overflow-wrap:break-word;">27 February 1994 </td><td style="border-left:solid #000000 1pt;border-right:solid #000000 1pt;border-bottom:solid #000000 1pt;border-top:solid #000000 1pt;vertical-align:top;padding:5pt 5pt 5pt 5pt;overflow:hidden;overflow-wrap:break-word;">39,115,642 kms </td></tr><tr><td style="border-left:solid #000000 1pt;border-right:solid #000000 1pt;border-bottom:solid #000000 1pt;border-top:solid #000000 1pt;vertical-align:top;padding:5pt 5pt 5pt 5pt;overflow:hidden;overflow-wrap:break-word;">23 September 2004 </td><td style="border-left:solid #000000 1pt;border-right:solid #000000 1pt;border-bottom:solid #000000 1pt;border-top:solid #000000 1pt;vertical-align:top;padding:5pt 5pt 5pt 5pt;overflow:hidden;overflow-wrap:break-word;">65,568,944 kms </td></tr><tr><td style="border-left:solid #000000 1pt;border-right:solid #000000 1pt;border-bottom:solid #000000 1pt;border-top:solid #000000 1pt;vertical-align:top;padding:5pt 5pt 5pt 5pt;overflow:hidden;overflow-wrap:break-word;">13 March 2011 </td><td style="border-left:solid #000000 1pt;border-right:solid #000000 1pt;border-bottom:solid #000000 1pt;border-top:solid #000000 1pt;vertical-align:top;padding:5pt 5pt 5pt 5pt;overflow:hidden;overflow-wrap:break-word;">4,268,643 kms </td></tr><tr><td style="border-left:solid #000000 1pt;border-right:solid #000000 1pt;border-bottom:solid #000000 1pt;border-top:solid #000000 1pt;vertical-align:top;padding:5pt 5pt 5pt 5pt;overflow:hidden;overflow-wrap:break-word;">27 November 2011 </td><td style="border-left:solid #000000 1pt;border-right:solid #000000 1pt;border-bottom:solid #000000 1pt;border-top:solid #000000 1pt;vertical-align:top;padding:5pt 5pt 5pt 5pt;overflow:hidden;overflow-wrap:break-word;">55,565,337 kms </td></tr><tr><td style="border-left:solid #000000 1pt;border-right:solid #000000 1pt;border-bottom:solid #000000 1pt;border-top:solid #000000 1pt;vertical-align:top;padding:5pt 5pt 5pt 5pt;overflow:hidden;overflow-wrap:break-word;">10 September 2012 </td><td style="border-left:solid #000000 1pt;border-right:solid #000000 1pt;border-bottom:solid #000000 1pt;border-top:solid #000000 1pt;vertical-align:top;padding:5pt 5pt 5pt 5pt;overflow:hidden;overflow-wrap:break-word;">26,499,097 kms </td></tr><tr><td style="border-left:solid #000000 1pt;border-right:solid #000000 1pt;border-bottom:solid #000000 1pt;border-top:solid #000000 1pt;vertical-align:top;padding:5pt 5pt 5pt 5pt;overflow:hidden;overflow-wrap:break-word;">4 March 2019 </td><td style="border-left:solid #000000 1pt;border-right:solid #000000 1pt;border-bottom:solid #000000 1pt;border-top:solid #000000 1pt;vertical-align:top;padding:5pt 5pt 5pt 5pt;overflow:hidden;overflow-wrap:break-word;">22,653,322 kms </td></tr><tr><td style="border-left:solid #000000 1pt;border-right:solid #000000 1pt;border-bottom:solid #000000 1pt;border-top:solid #000000 1pt;vertical-align:top;padding:5pt 5pt 5pt 5pt;overflow:hidden;overflow-wrap:break-word;">14 December 2019 </td><td style="border-left:solid #000000 1pt;border-right:solid #000000 1pt;border-bottom:solid #000000 1pt;border-top:solid #000000 1pt;vertical-align:top;padding:5pt 5pt 5pt 5pt;overflow:hidden;overflow-wrap:break-word;">55,773,685 kms </td></tr></tbody></table> The asteroid does not pose a threat to Earth. Even if it did, the space rock is only between 22 metres to 49 meters in diameter — approximately the size of a plane. If it were to break through Earth’s atmosphere, it would likely burn up on the way down. As the asteroid makes its fly by, it will be travelling at 29,376 kms per hour. SEE ALSO: <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/science/space/news/kepler-supernova-exploded-400-years-ago-but-hasnt-slowed-down-and-two-pieces-of-debris-are-headed-towards-earth/articleshow/77646381.cms">Kepler supernova exploded 400 years ago but hasn’t slowed down — and two pieces of debris are headed towards Earth</a> <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/science/space/news/mars-spotted-first-time-by-uae-hope-probe-on-its-maiden-voyage-in-space/articleshow/77775267.cms">UAE’s Hope probe spots Mars for the very first time on its maiden voyage through space</a> <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/science/space/news/isro-chandrayaan-2-identifies-craters-that-may-have-water-after-mapping-4-million-square-kilometres-of-the-moon-in-its-first-year/slidelist/77667105.cms">ISRO’s Chandrayaan 2 identifies craters that may have water after mapping 4 million square kilometres of the Moon in its first year</a>

No other asteroid is going to get closer to Earth in the next decade than the one set to fly by on September 1

<ul><li>Asteroid 2019 SR8 will be flying past Earth today. </li><li>The asteroid will be travelling over ten times as fast as a rifle bullet. </li><li>It is around half the size of the Statue of Liberty. </li></ul>The National Aeronautics and Space Administration's (NASA) <a href="https://www.jpl.nasa.gov/asteroidwatch/">Asteroid Watch</a> is on the lookout for an asteroid that will be zooming past Earth. And, it is faster than a bullet. The speed of an average rifle bullet is 3,276 kilometers per hour (kmph) but Asteroid 2019 SR8 will be flying at more than ten times that speed — at 35,350 kmph. Size matters On the one hand, Asteroid 2019 SR8 isn’t a very <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/the-10-biggest-asteroids-that-could-crash-into-earth-this-year/articleshow/70686096.cms">big asteroid</a>. It measures between 20 meters to 44 meters in diameter — that’s half the height of the Statue of Liberty. On the other, its closest approach to Earth will only be 5 million kilometers from the planet. This may seem like a large distance but it’s enough for NASA to classify the incoming asteroid as a ‘close approach’ or a ‘near-Earth object’. It’s one of the many Apollo asteroids — an asteroid that orbits around the Sun and the Earth — to come visit. Final impact Even though Asteroid 2019 SR8 will be under the close, watchful eye of NASA and the European Space Agency (ESA), the probability of an actual <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/neil-degrasse-tyson-and-other-scientists-believe-asteroids-will-eventually-hit-earth/articleshow/70644547.cms">asteroid impact</a> is low. Should the <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/asteroid-hitting-earth-and-ending-life-has-to-be-bigger-than-the-one-that-killed-dinosaurs/articleshow/70893317.cms">asteroid’s trajectory change</a>, its small size dictates that it will probably break up in Earth’s atmosphere. That isn’t to say an asteroid exploding mid-air won’t be harmful. It will still produce a large amount of energy equivalent to multiple nuclear explosions. See also: <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/science/space/news/ufologist-claims-the-god-of-chaos-asteroid-will-strike-somewhere-over-europe/articleshow/71537022.cms">Ufologist claims the ‘God of Chaos’ asteroid will strike somewhere over Europe</a> <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/asteroid-gets-caught-changing-colours-for-the-very-first-time/articleshow/70942978.cms">Asteroid gets caught changing colours for the very first time</a> <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/the-10-biggest-asteroids-that-could-crash-into-earth-this-year/articleshow/70686096.cms">The 10 biggest asteroids that could crash into Earth in 2019</a>

Asteroid flying faster than a bullet will shoot past Earth today

<ul class="summary-list"><li>A giant "city killer" asteroid will safely shoot past Earth today traveling at 41,000 mph.</li><li>Its closest approach to Earth will be 1.77 million miles, over seven times the distance to the moon.</li></ul>NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory has spotted a giant <a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/nasa-predicts-exact-date-asteroid-hit-earth-atomic-bomb-bennu-2023-9">"city killer" asteroid</a> flying toward Earth. And this afternoon, it will reach its closest approach to our planet, about 1.77 million miles away.For reference, <a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/mind-boggling-nasa-photo-shows-moon-distance-from-earth-2022-10">the moon</a> is about 239,000 miles from Earth, so this asteroid will be 7.4 times as far from Earth as the moon is. The speedy space rock is expected to be zipping along at about 41,000 mph and measures roughly 890 feet across, or roughly the size of a US football stadium, according to <a target="_blank" href="https://www.jpl.nasa.gov/asteroid-watch/next-five-approaches">NASA</a>.<div type="image" title="View of a football stadium from above." height="2051" width="1461" msid="107369399" hostid="261" sizebytes="513156"></div>Experts sometimes call asteroids this size "city killers" because they're capable of <a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/nasa-dart-mission-cant-protect-earth-without-surveilling-asteroids-2022-9">destroying an entire city</a> if they collide with an inhabited part of Earth.Still, this asteroid will be too small and far away to see without a telescope. It will be about 10,000 times fainter than the <a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/type-be-vampire-stars-secret-helper-2023-11">faintest stars</a> visible to the naked eye, Gianluca Masi, an astrophysicist and the scientific director of the Virtual Telescope Project, told Business Insider over email.But if you want to catch a glimpse of the asteroid as it whizzes by, you're in luck!Masi and his colleagues will be recording the event live starting at 1 p.m. ET today. You can watch the livestream on <a target="_blank" href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3CtdiyL86JE&amp;ab_channel=TheVirtualTelescopeProject">YouTube</a> or in the video below.The livestream will track Asteroid 2008 OS7 as it flies by Earth. Viewers will be able to distinguish it as a tiny dot moving past other fixed tiny dots, aka stars, in the background. The livestream will last about 45 minutes, Masi said.VTP has recorded other flybys like this, and it's "something always very fascinating to see," Masi told BI.<h2>About Asteroid 2008 OS7</h2>Asteroid 2008 OS7 orbits the sun every 962 days. After passing by Earth, it will continue along its oval-shaped path through our solar system.Its oblong-shaped orbit means that each time the asteroid approaches Earth, its distance from our planet varies significantly.For example, the website <a target="_blank" href="https://www.spacereference.org/asteroid/2008-os7">Space Reference</a> estimates that upon its next close approach, in July 2037, it will be about 9.7 million miles from Earth.<h2>Potentially hazardous asteroids</h2>Asteroid 2008 OS7 is what <a target="_blank" href="https://cneos.jpl.nasa.gov/about/neo_groups.html">NASA calls</a> a "potentially hazardous" asteroid because of its size and how close it flies past Earth.An asteroid is considered potentially hazardous if it is at least 460 feet in diameter and orbits Earth within a distance of about 4.65 million miles.Scientists have identified more than <a target="_blank" href="https://cneos.jpl.nasa.gov/stats/totals.html">34,000 near-Earth objects</a>. Just over 2,300 have been designated <a target="_blank" href="https://www.space.com/ai-finds-first-potentially-dangerous-asteroid">potentially hazardous</a>.But NASA suspects there are many more out there that haven't been discovered. If a giant asteroid were on course to hit Earth, we'd need <a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/nasa-asteroid-simulation-reveals-need-years-of-warning-2021-5#:~:text=NASA%20is%20developing%20a%20space%20telescope%20to%20track%20asteroids&amp;text=NASA%20is%20planning%20a%20mission,into%20Earth's%20orbit%20in%202026.">five to 10 years of warning</a> to destroy or deflect it.NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory is working on the <a target="_blank" href="https://www.jpl.nasa.gov/missions/near-earth-object-surveyor">Near-Earth Object Surveyor mission</a>, set to launch in September 2027. It would send an infrared space telescope into Earth's orbit to expand NASA's search for near-Earth objects that could threaten our planet.

A football stadium-sized asteroid will blaze by Earth today. Here's how to watch the potentially hazardous 'city killer' live.

<ul><li>Three asteroids — 2019 RX1, 2019 QZ3 and 2019 RG2 — are going to be flying past Earth today.</li><li>Asteroid 2019 RG2's close approach to Earth will be uncomfortably close at 500,000 kilometers.</li><li>Asteroid 2019 RG2 will also be moving at record speeds of 79,164 kilometers per hour.</li></ul>Three asteroids are scheduled to fly past Earth today — and one of them is going to come as close as half a million kilometers from the surface. This is the <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/what-happens-when-an-asteroid-actually-hits-earth/articleshow/70732006.cms">closest any asteroid</a> will get to Earth over the next three months. A <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/an-asteroid-discovered-a-week-ago-will-be-flying-closest-to-earth-tonight/articleshow/70992905.cms">single asteroid</a> flying past Earth isn't an anomaly — it happens on a daily basis. <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/two-asteroids-bigger-than-the-japan-tsunamis-are-coming-eerily-close-to-earth-today/articleshow/70870605.cms">Two asteroids</a> whizzing past the planet is a tad rarer, as it happens only once a month or so. Three asteroids on the same day, on the other hand, is exceptionally rare. Today, asteroids <a href="https://ssd.jpl.nasa.gov/sbdb.cgi?sstr=2019%20RX1">2019 RX1</a>, <a href="https://ssd.jpl.nasa.gov/sbdb.cgi?sstr=2019%20QZ3">2019 QZ3</a> and <a href="https://ssd.jpl.nasa.gov/sbdb.cgi?sstr=2019%20RG2">2019 RG2</a> will be making their visit close to Earth. Aside from the fact that there will be three asteroids gunning for the planet, it's even rarer for one to get this close. Most asteroids that approach the Earth are normally at least two million kilometers away. But 2019 RG2 will be a mere 524,000 kilometers away from our planet. Why size matters All three asteroids are extremely small. Asteroid 2019 QZ3 is the biggest of the three with a diameter of 38 meters, but that's only as big as the Lotus Temple in Delhi. 
 
 <div type="image" title="Lotus_Temple_at_Night_edited" msid="71042307" hostid="261" caption="&amp;lt;p&amp;gt;Lotus Temple in New Delhi, India&amp;lt;/p&amp;gt;"></div>




 Asteroid 2019 RX1 is smaller and only 28 meters in diameter — about the size of the Gateway of India in Mumbai. 
 
 <div type="image" title="Gateway_of_India_(13985936311)_edited" msid="71042355" hostid="261" caption="&amp;lt;p&amp;gt;Gateway of India in Mumbai&amp;lt;/p&amp;gt;"></div>





 2019 RG2, which will be the closest to Earth, is the smallest. It's only 11 meters in size — twice the height of an average human being. Fast and furious Because 2019 RG2 is so small, it will travel at extremely fast at speed of 79,164 kilometers per hour. This will make it the second fastest asteroid to fly past Earth in September — and even October and November. In comparison, asteroid RX1 will be travelling at nearly half the speed of 47,988 kilometers. 2019 QZ 3, the slowest of the three, will be at a mere 26,892 kilometers. The only asteroid that will be faster is the one scheduled to whizz past Earth on 24 September 2019 at a speed of 80,136 kilometers per hour. But it will be much further away — 4 million kilometers away. None of the three asteroids are on a collision course with Earth, as no alert has been issued by the Center for Near Earth Object Studies (CNEOS). Nonetheless, the National Aeronautics and Space Administration's (NASA) Jet Propulsion Laboratory classified them as ‘potentially hazardous' and put them on <a href="https://www.jpl.nasa.gov/asteroidwatch/">Asteroid Watch</a>. See also: <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/the-10-biggest-asteroids-that-could-crash-into-earth-this-year/articleshow/70686096.cms">The 10 biggest asteroids that could crash into Earth in 2019</a> <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/what-is-asteroid-meteorite-and-meteor/articleshow/70654013.cms">An asteroid only turns into a meteor if it falls to Earth</a> <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/an-asteroid-nearly-half-the-size-of-mount-everest-might-be-on-a-collision-course-for-earth-in-less-than-a-year/articleshow/70698774.cms">An asteroid nearly half the size of Mount Everest might be on a collision course for Earth in less than a year</a>

It’s a record day for asteroids as three of them plan to fly past Earth

<ul class="summary-list"><li>Asteroid Bennu has a slim chance of hitting our planet on September 24, 2182, NASA said.</li><li>It would release as much energy as about 24 nuclear bombs, so NASA is keeping a close eye on it. </li></ul>What are you doing on September 24, 2182? You may want to clear your calendar because scientists think an asteroid may hit Earth. NASA scientists are keeping a close eye on asteroid Bennu, a 1,610-foot-wide <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/asteroid-sizes-that-can-damage-cities-states-planet-2018-6">cosmic object</a> that could smash into our planet.If Bennu were to hit the Earth, it would slam into the surface at about seven miles per second. It is so big that it could release 1,400 megatons of energy, <a href="https://cneos.jpl.nasa.gov/sentry/details.html#?des=101955" target="_blank" rel="noopener">per a NASA calculation</a> — which is at least 24 times as powerful as the nuclear weapon, the Tsar Bomba. Thankfully, the chances of this happening are very slim — about 1 in 2,700, <a href="https://www.jpl.nasa.gov/news/nasa-spacecraft-provides-insight-into-asteroid-bennus-future-orbit" target="_blank" rel="noopener">per a 2021 study</a>.Still, NASA is interested enough in Bennu to launch a <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/nasa-probe-returning-from-asteroid-with-2-oz-of-asteroid-space-rock-2021-5">seven-year-long mission</a> to study it, which is due to bring back a precious sample from the asteroid in a dramatic landing on Sunday.This mission could help us better forecast the future of our cosmic neighbor, but it could also provide unprecedented insight into the <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/video-earth-tectonic-plates-billion-years-2021-2">formation of the Earth</a>. <h2>Bennu is bigger than the Empire State Building</h2>Bennu belongs to a category of asteroids called "city-killers." That means that if it were to hit the Earth — the probability of which is zero until 2,100 and very small after that, per NASA — it would be powerful enough to flatten a large city. <div type="image" title="A animated gif shows a model of Bennu next to a picture of the Empire State Building and the Eiffel tower, both of which are about as tall as the asteroid is big." height="359" width="720" msid="103866263" hostid="261"></div>The diamond-shaped asteroid is no stranger to Earth's neighborhood. Its long orbit around the sun means it approaches the Earth about every six years. But it usually keeps a polite distance from us — it's never come closer than about <a href="https://ssd.jpl.nasa.gov/tools/sbdb_lookup.html#/?sstr=Bennu&amp;view=OPC" target="_blank" rel="noopener">3 million miles</a> from Earth.As it makes its way around the solar system, <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/nasa-spacecraft-asteroid-landing-osiris-rex-2020-10">Bennu's orbit</a> can change, and that's where it gets a little riskier. To make its 2182 appointment with the Earth, Bennu will need to pass within a very small window in space — a "<a href="https://svs.gsfc.nasa.gov/4921" target="_blank" rel="noopener">gravitational keyhole</a>" — in 2135. That would shift its orbit perfectly to line up with our planet.But there's still a 99.96% chance it will miss us on that date. <h2>We need to know more about large Earth-bound asteroids</h2>Even though the risk is low, large asteroids near Earth need to be taken seriously. Of the ones we know, most pose <a href="https://www.nasa.gov/planetarydefense/did-you-know" target="_blank" rel="noopener">little to no</a> risk to our planet.But the concern is that these kinds of objects could be hiding from view, meaning NASA can only spot them moments before they hit.<div type="image" title="A animated gif shows Bennu from all sides as it is being rotated around. The diamond-shaped grey asteroid is covered in boulders." height="900" width="900" msid="103866265" hostid="261"></div>NASA estimates that <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/nasa-dart-mission-cant-protect-earth-without-surveilling-asteroids-2022-9">60% of the city-killer-sized</a> asteroids that could come in proximity to Earth are unknown at this time, and <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/planet-killer-asteroid-could-threaten-earth-in-a-few-millennia-2022-10">even bigger rocks</a> could be hidden in the light of the sun, a known blindspot for observation from Earth. The <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/chelyabinsk-meteor-mystery-3-years-later-2016-2?jwsource=cl">Chelyabinsk incident</a> provided a stark reminder of this fact in 2013 when a house-sized asteroid unexpectedly appeared over the city before exploding, breaking windows, damaging buildings, and injuring more than 1,400 people.<div type="image" title="asteroid russia Chelyabinsk" height="3744" width="4992" msid="103866266" hostid="261"></div>That's why NASA has been working to improve its forecasting of so-called Near Earth Objects.Studying an object like Bennu, which is easy to observe and comes close enough to Earth that we can send a mission there, is important for understanding more about these objects. NASA's mission to Bennu, a probe called Osiris-Rex that was launched in 2016, could provide more clues about how asteroids sail in the cosmos. For instance, one of the mission's objectives is to understand how the <a href="https://www.nasa.gov/planetarydefense/did-you-know" target="_blank" rel="noopener">light from the sun,</a> as it is absorbed and re-radiated, could affect Bennu's orbit.<h2>Bennu could shed light on our planet's birth</h2>There's more to Bennu than its destructive potential, and that's what NASA is most interested in for Osiris-Rex.Bennu was likely created at about the same time as our planet, about 4.5 billion years ago, <a href="https://beta.science.nasa.gov/mission/osiris-rex/osiris-rex-faq/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">NASA said</a>.Traces of what happened at that time have long been erased from our planet, under millions of years of erosion. But Bennu could still be carrying elements from then, frozen in time as it sails through the cosmos, per NASA.That's why NASA is eagerly awaiting the return of its Osiris-Rex spacecraft, which is carrying a few ounces of precious dust collected from Bennu in 2020.<div type="image" title="OSIRIS REx collection" height="1312" width="1749" msid="103866269" hostid="261"></div>This little probe, which has been sailing back from Bennu since May 10, 2021, should deliver its payload, a capsule containing the precious sample, as it passes about 63,000 miles from the Earth in the early hours of Sunday morning. The capsule is planned to fall back to Earth later Sunday morning, landing in Utah around 10:55 a.m. ET.

NASA scientists calculated the exact date an asteroid could hit Earth with the force of at least 24 nuclear bombs. Thankfully, it's a long way off.

<ul class="summary-list"><li>A <keyword id="41531" type="COMPANY" weightage="60" keywordseo="space">space</keyword> rock crashed into present-day Mexico 66 million years ago, <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/timeline-consequences-of-dinosaur-killing-asteroid-2019-9">dooming the dinosaurs</a>.</li><li>The object's origin has remained a mystery, but Harvard astrophysicists have a new theory. </li><li>They suggest the dinosaur-killer wasn't an <keyword id="6549794" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="60" keywordseo="asteroid">asteroid</keyword>, but shrapnel from a comet that had flown too close to the sun.</li></ul>About 66 million years ago, a space rock more than 6 miles wide collided with Earth, striking land that is now part of Mexico.The impact sparked wildfires that stretched for hundreds of miles, triggered a mile-high tsunami, and released billions of tons of sulfur into the atmosphere. That gaseous haze blocked the sun, cooling the Earth and dooming the <keyword id="6533782" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="60" keywordseo="Dinosaurs">dinosaurs</keyword>, along with 75% of all life on the planet.But the origins of that dinosaur-killing rock, named <keyword id="244916" type="CITY" weightage="60" keywordseo="Chicxulub">Chicxulub</keyword>, have remained a mystery. Most theories suggest Chicxulub was a massive asteroid; hundreds of thousands of these rocks sit in a donut-shaped ring between Mars and Jupiter. But in <a href="https://www.nature.com/articles/s41598-021-82320-2">a study</a> published Monday, two Harvard astrophysicists suggested an alternate idea: that Chicxulub wasn't an asteroid at all, but a piece of shrapnel from an icy comet that had been pushed too close to the sun by Jupiter's gravity.Asteroids and comets are both classified as space rocks <a href="https://solarsystem.nasa.gov/news/715/10-things-whats-that-space-rock/">by NASA</a>, but they differ in key ways: Comets form from ice and dust outside our solar system and are generally small and fast-moving, whereas rocky asteroids are larger, slower, and form closer to the sun."We are suggesting that, in fact, if you break up an object as it comes close to the sun, it could give rise to the appropriate event rate and also the kind of impact that killed the dinosaurs," Avi Loeb, an astrophysicist and cosmologist at Harvard University and co-author of the new study, said <a href="https://phys.org/news/2021-02-comet-asteroid-dinosaurs.html">in a press release</a>. <h2>The solar system acts like a 'pinball machine' for comets</h2><div type="image" title="asteroid meteor armageddon shutterstock" height="714" width="952" msid="81022703" hostid="261"></div>Most asteroids come from <a href="https://www.nasa.gov/planetarydefense/did-you-know">the asteroid belt</a> between the solar system's inner and outer planets. But <a href="https://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/WISE/news/wise20110919.html">NASA scientists</a> who keep tabs on space objects that pass near Earth have yet to figure out where Chicxulub came from. In the new study, published in the journal Scientific Reports, Loeb and his co-author, Amir Siraj, suggest Chicxulub didn't come from the asteroid belt. Rather, they say it more likely originated outside our solar system, in an area called <a href="https://solarsystem.nasa.gov/solar-system/oort-cloud/in-depth/">the Oort cloud</a>. Think of the Oort cloud as ring made of 1 trillion pieces of icy debris, which sits beyond the farthest reaches of the solar system, surrounding it. It's located at least 2,000 times farther away from the sun than Earth is. Comets that originate in the Oort cloud are known as <a href="https://starchild.gsfc.nasa.gov/docs/StarChild/questions/question40.html">long-period comets</a> because they take so long to complete one orbit around the sun.But these comets can sometimes get pulled off-course by the gravity of massive planets like Jupiter. Such a tweak to a comet's orbit could send it hurtling on a path much closer to the sun. "The solar system acts as a kind of pinball machine," Siraj said <a href="https://phys.org/news/2021-02-comet-asteroid-dinosaurs.html">in the release</a>.Comets that get near the sun are called "sungrazers." The new study calculated that about 20% of Oort cloud comets are sungrazers. As they approach our star, its gravity starts to pull them apart. Fragments of comet slough off and may careen toward nearby planets. This, the study authors say, is "a satisfactory explanation for the origin of the impactor" that killed the dinosaurs.<h2>The asteroid-versus-comet argument isn't settled</h2><div type="image" title="Chicxulub_impact asteroid" height="2089" width="2785" msid="81022708" hostid="261"></div>Siraj and Loeb aren't the only scientists who think a comet, not an asteroid, doomed the dinosaurs. A group of researchers from Dartmouth College similarly <a href="https://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2013-04/dc-drs040413.php">suggested in 2013</a> that a high-speed comet could have created the Chicxulub crater. Chicxulub hit Earth at a speed of 12 miles per second (43,200 mph), which is about 30 times faster than the speed of a supersonic jet. The resulting 100-mile-wide crater extended 12 miles into the depths of the Gulf of Mexico. Some scientists <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/timeline-consequences-of-dinosaur-killing-asteroid-2019-9">have estimated</a> the asteroid's power was equivalent to 10 billion of the atomic bombs used in World War II.But not all researchers are convinced a comet caused that destruction.Natalia Artemieva, a senior scientist at the Planetary <keyword id="41551" type="ENTERTAINMENT" weightage="100" keywordseo="science">Science</keyword> Institute in Arizona, <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2021/02/15/science/dinosaur-extinction-kt-comet-asteroid.html">told The New York Times</a> that comet fragments from a sungrazer would have been too small to create the Chicxulub crater. And Bill Bottke, a planetary scientist at the Southwest Research Institute in Colorado, suggested that the study overestimates the frequency of sungrazers - and, consequently, the amount of fragments those comets produce.Existing evidence favors the idea that Chicxulub was an asteroid, "but it's not conclusive," Bottke <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2021/02/15/science/dinosaur-extinction-kt-comet-asteroid.html">told the Times</a>. "There's still wiggle room if somebody really wants it to be a comet. I just think making that case is really hard."Siraj and Loeb, however, said their theory is supported by a type of material found deep inside the Chicxulub crater and other craters in South Africa and Kazakhstan. That substance, carbonaceous chondrite, may have come from comets. Whereas just 10% of asteroids from the asteroid belt are composed of carbonaceous chondrites, the material "could potentially be widespread in comets," the study authors wrote.The only samples ever collected from a comet in space were brought back in 2006. They revealed that object, called Wild 2, was composed of carbonaceous chondrite.<div type="image" title="kuiper belt oort cloud" height="853" width="1280" msid="81022713" hostid="261"></div>Finding the correct answer in the Chicxulub debate is useful because it could help researchers figure out the likelihood of a similar impact event in the future. Only two to three comets from the Oort Cloud have hit Earth during the last 500 million years, <a href="https://www.space.com/7075-comets-edge-solar-system-hit-earth.html">according to one study</a>. By contrast, according to the Planetary Society, a Chicxulub-sized asteroid impacts Earth every <a href="https://www.planetary.org/articles/will-an-asteroid-hit-earth#:~:text=About%2030%20small%20asteroids%20a,significant%20damage%20on%20the%20ground.">100 million years or so</a>. Siraj and Loeb modeled how many long-period comets get close enough to the sun to shed large fragments in the direction of Earth. Their numbers suggest 10 times more Chicxulub-sized objects hit Earth over its history than scientists previously thought.

The space rock that doomed the dinosaurs was shrapnel from a comet that flew too close to the sun, a Harvard study suggests

<ul class="summary-list"><li>A large asteroid is set to pass by the Earth on Saturday in a once-in-a-decade event.</li><li>The asteroid will pass between Earth and the moon's orbit, bringing it relatively close.</li></ul>A large asteroid is set to zoom past the Earth on Saturday at an unusually close distance, putting it closer to the planet than the moon.The newly discovered space rock, named <a href="https://ssd.jpl.nasa.gov/tools/sbdb_lookup.html#/?sstr=2023%20DZ2" target="_blank" rel="noopener">2023 DZ2</a>, is expected to safely fly by on Saturday, according to <a href="https://twitter.com/AsteroidWatch/status/1638199889690521600?s=20" target="_blank" rel="noopener">NASA</a>. The asteroid is expected to travel at speeds faster than 17,400 miles per hour and have a diameter between 140 feet to 310 feet, or around the size of a small skyscraper. "While close approaches are a regular occurrence, one by an asteroid of this size (140-310 ft) happens only about once per decade, providing a unique opportunity for science," NASA said.<a href="https://twitter.com/AsteroidWatch/status/1638199889690521600" target="_blank" rel="noopener"></a>The asteroid is expected to pass by around 108,000 miles away from the Earth, which is a little closer than half way between the planet and the moon.<a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/jupiter-venus-conjunction-planets-align-sky-how-where-when-see-2023-2?inline-endstory-related-recommendations=">NASA</a> said astronomers with the International Asteroid Warning Network, a group of organizations that tracks and plans for the risk of an asteroid impact, are studying DZ2 to help with planetary defense if an asteroid threat was ever discovered.The asteroid will be closest to Earth at around 3:50 p.m. Eastern time on Saturday, according to <a href="https://earthsky.org/space/200-ft-asteroid-2023-dz2-will-pass-by-earth-closer-than-the-moon/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">EarthSky</a>. The asteroid may be visible through small telescopes. The best chance of seeing it is on Friday night from the Northern Hemisphere. EarthSky said its close proximity to Earth may make it appear like a "slow-moving star."The asteroid is also passing by days before <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/when-how-see-planetary-alignment-five-planets-visible-march-sky-2023-3">five planets</a> — Mercury, Jupiter, Venus, Uranus, and Mars — are expected to align with the moon and form a great arc across the night sky in a rare cosmic event.

An asteroid nearly the size of a skyscraper will whiz between the Earth and the moon on Saturday in a once-in-a-decade event

<ul class="summary-list"><li><a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/astronomer-discover-youngest-asteroid-pair-ever-in-our-solar-system-2022-2">Astronomers</a> discovered a "planet killer" asteroid that may pose a threat to Earth in future millennia.</li><li>The discovery highlights a dangerous blind spot: it's hard to see <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/comet-neowise-surprise-appearance-earth-unprepared-for-asteroids-2020-7">anything coming from the direction of the sun</a>.</li></ul>Astronomers discovered a large <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/nasa-confirms-dart-probe-crash-moved-asteroid-2022-10">asteroid</a> nearby this year, on a trajectory that could take it dangerously close to our planet in the distant future.The asteroid, called 2022 AP7, is about 1.5 kilometers wide — nearly one mile. That makes it a "planet killer," Scott S. Sheppard, an astronomer at the Carnegie Institution for Science, said in a <a href="https://noirlab.edu/public/news/noirlab2226/">press release</a> announcing the discovery on Monday.Although the rock isn't as big as the one that led to dinosaurs' extinction, it's big enough to wreak planet-wide destruction and potentially change life on Earth as we know it.Thankfully, 2022 AP7 isn't headed for Earth anytime soon, especially not in the next century, according to researchers' calculations. "Way down the line, in the next few thousand years, it could turn into a problem for our descendants," Alan Fitzsimmons, an astronomer at Queen's University Belfast who was not involved in the study, told <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2022/10/31/science/asteroid-planet-killer.html">The New York Times</a>.But there could be other planet killer asteroids lurking unseen in the blind spot where 2022 AP7 was discovered: within the orbits of Earth and Venus, between us and the sun.<h2>The sun's glare could conceal dangerous asteroids</h2><div type="image" title="illustration of asteroid shadow with sun shining behind" height="720" width="1280" msid="95237774" hostid="261" sizebytes="31102"></div>In August 2020, an asteroid the size of a car passed closer to Earth than any known space rock had ever come without crashing. It missed our planet by about 1,830 miles.Astronomers didn't know the space rock existed until about six hours after it whizzed by. Nobody saw it coming, because it was approaching from the direction of the sun.Telescopes spot asteroids by detecting sunlight reflecting off of them. That makes it very difficult to spot asteroids located between Earth and the sun. The brilliant glare of our star — which is 109 times wider than Earth — easily drowns out the faint glint of a mile-wide asteroid. Plus, some asteroids aren't very reflective.To find more asteroids in this blinding zone, Sheppard's team used a camera designed to detect dark energy, mounted on a telescope at Cerro Tololo Inter-American Observatory in Chile.They could only scan the near-sun sky during a 10-minute window at twilight, peering at the horizon just before the sun emerges. Sheppard's team was able to identify three previously unknown near-Earth asteroids, including 2022 AP7. The survey results were <a href="https://iopscience.iop.org/article/10.3847/1538-3881/ac8cff">published</a> in The Astronomical Journal on September 29."There are likely only a few [near-Earth asteroids] with similar sizes left to find," Sheppard said in the release.He added that most of the undiscovered asteroids probably stay closer to the sun, rather than coming near Earth's orbit.<h2>NASA is making Armageddon plans</h2><div type="image" title="sequence of images showing asteroid from a distance then close up then video cutting out" height="1000" width="2000" msid="95237775" hostid="261" sizebytes="58056"></div>NASA is working on a game plan for the day scientists detect an asteroid on a true collision course with Earth. The agency just slammed a spacecraft into a distant asteroid and successfully changed that asteroid's orbit around a larger space rock.That mission, called the Double Asteroid Redirection Test (DART), was practice for striking any asteroid approaching Earth, giving it a nudge to steer it off course. No such asteroids have been identified, but NASA is preparing for the possibility of future discoveries.However, <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/nasa-asteroid-simulation-reveals-need-years-of-warning-2021-5">scientists previously told Insider</a> that NASA would probably need about five to 10 years to build and launch a DART-like deflection mission for an asteroid that posed a threat to Earth. That means astronomers must identify asteroids long before they approach our planet.NASA is slowly advancing a space telescope to track down more city killer asteroids in our cosmic neighborhood. That project, called the Near-Earth Object (NEO) Surveyor, <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/nasa-dart-mission-cant-protect-earth-without-surveilling-asteroids-2022-9">recently had its budget cut by more than $100 million</a>. It's set to launch as early as 2028.<div type="image" title="neocam asteroid hunter spacecraft discovery nasa jpl caltech" height="1712" width="1968" msid="95237776" hostid="261" sizebytes="205312"></div>The telescope is designed to help NASA fulfill a Congressional mandate to find and track 90% of all near-Earth objects 140 meters (460 feet) or larger in size. That's big enough to obliterate a city like New York. The goal was to find them by the end of 2020. Obviously, NASA is behind.So far, NASA estimates it has only catalogued 40% of those city killers. NEO Surveyor would help spot the rest of them. That includes asteroids coming from the direction of the sun.

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