Editor-DN
Smaller asteroids like 2022 SW3 often pass close to Earth.
A 120-foot asteroid, about the size of a small airplane, will make its closest approach to Earth, NASA officials confirmed today. But don’t worry, because despite being close, asteroid 2022 SW3 poses no threat. NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory reassured that there was no cause for concern when it said the asteroid “will come no closer than about 1.6 million miles.”
It will pass within three times the distance of Earth from the Moon. Although close, scientists say it poses no threat to Earth yet. This close encounter will be an opportunity for scientists to obtain much-needed data about near-Earth objects (NEOs).
Scientists track the orbits of known asteroids, including 2022 SW3which periodically approach the Earth’s orbit. These observations are very important for forecasting and risk assessment.
In fact, asteroids were the material remnants of the old solar system, which formed about 4.6 billion years ago. They have no atmosphere and are not in the form of planets. Advanced technology and observation can trace their paths down to the smallest detail.
Some had major implications for Earth, including one at Chicxulub that killed off the dinosaurs 66 million years ago.
Examples include NASA’s OSIRIS-REx and Japan’s Hayabusa2. Samples obtained from such missions play an important role in answering questions about the origin of our solar system and how life-sustaining compounds could have arrived on Earth. Each transiting asteroid increases our chances of being prepared for other possible threats.
Today’s close flyby also highlights the fact that no one can understand asteroids or close observations of them just once and for all. Although this event is not dangerous, it will be a good time for scientists to gather data to prepare for upcoming competitions.
The space agency NASA has created a defense system to avoid the fear of these near-Earth objects. According to NASAthe Double Asteroid Redirection Test (DART), the world’s first demonstration of planetary defense technology, has successfully attempted to divert its asteroid target into space in the past.
