Asteroid 2023 RU is coming very close to Earth today; NASA reveals details of size and speed
Due to frequent close visits with asteroids, NASA, the European Space Agency, and other space agencies have developed techniques to track these space rocks in their orbits, and even deflect them if a potential collision scenario develops. Thanks to this advanced technology, NASA has now revealed details about an asteroid that will approach Earth today. An asteroid, named Asteroid 2023 RU, is on its way toward Earth and could make its closest approach to the planet today, September 11.
Asteroid 2023 RU: details of its approach
NASA tracked the orbit of this asteroid using its various satellites and space and ground telescopes, and revealed important information about its upcoming approach. According to the details, the asteroid 2023 RU is expected to reach the closest distance to the planet, at a distance of 4 million kilometers, and at an amazing speed of 72,951 kilometers per hour.
It travels at a faster speed than NASA’s Voyager 1 probe, which was launched in 1977 to study the outer solar system and interstellar space.!
This space rock belongs to the Apollo group of near-Earth asteroids, which are trans-Earth space rocks with semi-major axes larger than Earth’s axis. These asteroids are named after the massive 1862 Apollo asteroid, which was discovered by German astronomer Karl Reinmuth in the 1930s.
In terms of size, NASA estimates that asteroid 2023 RU is between 65 feet and 130 feet across, making it the size of an airplane! However, it is not large enough to be classified as a potentially dangerous asteroid, and is not expected to pose any threat to Earth.
Read also: 5 asteroids approaching Earth today; Find out the details
Surprisingly, this will be the first approach of asteroid 2023 QC5 to Earth. According to a search of NASA’s Small Object Database, no other close approaches have been predicted in the near future.
Strange behavior of the asteroid Dimorphos
NASA made history on September 26 last year when it conducted its first-ever planetary defense test. This test was called the Double Asteroid Redirection Test (DART), and was a successful attempt to divert a potentially dangerous asteroid called Didymos from its collision course with Earth. While the asteroid successfully veered off course, researchers discovered strange behavior in Didymos’ moon, Demorphos.
According to a report published by NewScientist, Jonathan Swift, a teacher at Thacher School in California, discovered with his students that Dimorphos was slowing down in its orbit. While it was initially expected to slow down, then return to its original speed shortly after impact, it continued to slow down in orbit around Didymos.
(tags for translation)Near-Earth asteroids
