A Giant Asteroid will Skim Earth in a Few Days

NASA has confirmed that the asteroid QE2, with a size nine times greater than a cruise ship will pass very close to Earth on 31 May. A unique opportunity to study this type of bodies, but that does not constitute a risk to the planet.

The U.S. space agency has announced that on May 31, a giant asteroid will pass very close to our planet, which at first might sound alarming. Is there reason to worry?

Just a few weeks ago we told that NASA was working on improving the detection of asteroids coming, with the construction of an infrared sensor called NEOCam . This is because one of the priorities of the agency is to identify what is known as NEO asteroids , which are those whose orbit passes very close to Earth.

In fact, according to the agency, 98% of the NEO-type asteroids, that may pose a problem for the planet if they present a path very close to the planet and very biased, have been detected by NASA itself. The study of these bodies that are lost in space is a priority for the agency, since in 2012 the budget of the U.S. organization devoted to detecting asteroids such increased from 6 to 20 million dollars.

What NASA has detected? For now, while we are so quiet drinking coffee, working or studying, there are asteroids hovering in the middle of the universe, not that we are worried. However, the U.S. space agency, along with other international institutions, ensure that the safety of the planet is not jeopardized.

Therefore, they have found that on 31 May, a giant asteroid, 9 times larger than the size of a cruise, will pass very close to Earth. So, so close that it seems that even touches our planet, as it fell to 6 million miles.Is there reason to be concerned? The answer is no, according to NASA. The asteroid, known as 1998 QE2will continue his career without any problem for our survival and that will go far enough to ensure the safety of the planet, but close enough to learn some of the most striking features of the asteroids.

The astronomer Lance Benner, the Jet Propulsion Lab at NASA confirms that this is a major scientific fact.“May the QE2 asteroid pass so close to Earth is a unique opportunity to observe the size, shape, rotation, and other characteristics related to the origin of these bodies. ” In addition, the space agency confirms that deployed new technologies to study radar and calculate the speed and trajectory of the asteroid, with the aim of further prepared for the future. A scientific fact of great importance, therefore, but of which we can feel safe.

Shortlink:

Posted by Paracha on May 17, 2013. Filed under Life Style, News, Relations. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0. You can skip to the end and leave a response. Pinging is currently not allowed.