The threat of asteroids capable of destroying our planet is one of the greatest fears of scientists who are dedicated to studying the mysteries of the outer space. The fact that it happened approximately 64 million years ago, when the dinosaurs became extinct, leaves that possibility open for the future.
That is why astronomers, astrophysicists and experts in space research try to identify each of the rocks that walk through our stellar region. Calculating its orbital path is important to know if our surface is within its translation.
And since there are rocks surrounding the solar system, which have not yet been detected by our radars, scientists at the POT, THIS and other space agencies develop a mission called dartwith which they intend to divert asteroids that are potentially a threat.
That mission is only in an advanced testing phase. So, if a couple of asteroids happened to collide with our surface in the following days, we humans would not have a shield ready to stop them or at least deflect them.
The DART mission is the world’s first planetary defense test. The space probe will purposely crash into a binary asteroid system to slightly deflect its orbit on September 26.#DARTMission
— CosmoSapiens (@cosmosapiens_) September 7, 2022
Asteroids 2005 RX3 and 2022 QB37
A pair of asteroids identified under the names of 2005 RX3 and 2022 QB37 They have the vicinity of our planet on their route axis for this Sunday, September 18, 2022. The date coincides with the National Holidays of Chile and anyone could be alarmed that a catastrophe is going to happen on a day of celebration.
Fortunately that is not going to happen with this pair of asteroids. According to a NASA report, quoted by the media 24 hoursthe two asteroids are within the agency’s radars, but they will not pass close enough to pose a threat.
First of all, 2005 RX3 registers a diameter of about 119 meters, enough to do a lot of damage. It will pass about 4,741,486 kilometers away and its next approach will be in 2036.
In the case of 2022 QB37, 55 meters large, it will approach a distance of 6,515,262 kilometers and its short orbit will allow it to continue to approach Earth much more frequently than the other.
NASA massively updates its website with the integration of three ongoing near-Earth asteroids that need to be watched 😅https://t.co/Kt5lBRaNUf
— FayerWayer (@fayerwayer) September 5, 2022