It's time to call Bruce Willis: On October 12, an asteroid will fly dangerously close to Earth
On Thursday, October 12, an asteroid codenamed 2012 TC4 will pass "damn close" to Earth. In the summer of 2016, scientists estimated that the celestial body will fly at a distance of about 6800 kilometers from the surface of our planet. According to preliminary calculations by NASA scientists, the asteroid has a diameter of about 30 meters or less, its speed is 14 kilometers per second.
If an asteroid of this size enters the Earth's atmosphere, the consequences will be more extensive than after the fall of the Chelyabinsk meteorite in February 2013, when about 1,500 people were injured and up to 7 thousand buildings were damaged.
The path of asteroid 2012 TC4.
The small near-Earth asteroid 2012 TC4 was discovered on October 4, 2012 by the Pan-STARRS telescope system in Hawaii. But because of its orbit, scientists could not trace its path, and for five years the celestial body disappeared from the field of view of ground-based telescopes.
Recent calculations have shown that 2012 TC4 will fly past the Earth at a distance of 433,200 to 8,200 kilometers. The latter figure is not so encouraging, although, according to NASA scientists, the probability of a collision with Earth is extremely small.
A photo of an asteroid taken by a telescope in 2012.
Scientists plan to use such a close distance as an opportunity to collect valuable data on asteroids and test systems to protect the planet to prepare for a real asteroid threat, if such a thing happens.
According to the NASA map, 2012 TC4 will enter the outer space between Earth and lunar orbit diagonally before returning to space again.
Michael Kelley, head of NASA's anti-asteroid defense system, said: "Scientists always appreciate the opportunity to know in advance when an asteroid is as close to the Earth as possible and flies past it at a safe distance in order to have time to prepare for data collection and learn as much as possible about the celestial body."
Keywords: NASA | Asteroids | Earth | Scientists