NASA's Planetary Defense Coordination Office (PDCO), tasked with alerting the world should a threatening Near-Earth Object (NEO) be detected, has issued another statement on an earthiflirt that measured about 11m across and flew past Earth tonight at roughly one-third the distance between Earth and moon but quite safely. The asteroid received the name 2015 AK1 and today, on January 15, 2024, it will approach Earth at a safe distance of about 6 million kilometers.
However, the asteroid is cruising through space at a break-neck speed of 47608 kilometers per hour, faster than an Intercontinental Ballistic Missile (ICBM)! More facts and figures about this cosmic stowaway as evident to NASA are presented below.
What is 2015 AK1?
Asteroid 2015 AK1 is an Apollo group NEO which represents a generic term for Earth-crossing asteroids with semi-major axes greater than the Earth's. They are named after the giant 1862 Apollo asteroid, discovered by the German astronomer Karl Reinmuth in the 1930s.
2015 AK1 was first spotted January 8, 2015, by the Catalina Sky Survey project, which looks out for comets and asteroids according to NASA's Center for Near-Earth Object Studies (CNEOS). The asteroid is estimated to be 48 meters or 160 feet wide in diameter, just a little larger than an airplane. For example, the wingspan of the Boeing 747 series is only 68 meters, or 224 feet.
How close? How fast?
2015 AK1 will make its closest approach to Earth today at about 10:54 AM IST. At this stage, the asteroid would be as far away as 6 million kilometers from the planet or about 16 times of distance between Earth and Moon. This is termed to be a close encounter in the astronomical terms although not being any so much close enough to pose any danger to the Earth or its satellites.
However, the asteroid is zooming through space at a breakneck speed of 47608 kilometers in an hour equivalent to 13 kilometers in a second. That is faster than most of man-made objects orbiting Earth such as the International Space Station, which travels about 7.6 kilometers a second.
Has it come close to the Earth before?
According to CNEOS, 2015 AK1 has come close and will come close to the Earth again.
The orbit of the asteroid is very eccentric, that is to say, the distance that separates it from the Sun is not stable. Its orbit ranges from 0.7 astronomical units (AU) to 2.8 AU, where 1 AU is considered the average distance between Earth and Sun that is around 150 million kilometers. The time taken by the asteroid to orbit the Sun fully one time, generally referred to as the orbital period of the asteroid, is approximately 2.6 years.
While in its near miss condition, the asteroid last approached Earth on March 30th, 1900 and passed at a distance of 23 million kilometers from our planet. The next closest approach will be on January 4, 2033 with the distance of about 29 million kilometers.
How does NASA do follow and deflect the asteroids?
NASA along other space agencies in the world have had developed various programs and technologies that screen and deflect asteroids that are potentially harmful if it ever hit Earth.
The Near-Earth Object Wide-field Infrared Survey Explorer (NEOWISE) is the most important tool that NASA uses in the detection and characterization of NEOs, where it is an infrared space telescope that scans the sky.NEOWISE is expected to be able to derive the size, shape, and composition of the asteroid as well as its orbits and trajectories.
A second set of NASA-provided tools is called the Atacama Large Millimeter/submillimeter Array (ALMA) - an array that has the capability to observe the thermal emission from an asteroid, measure its rotation, and map surface features.
NASA also partners and tracks with other observatories and surveys such as the Pan-STARRS (Panoramic Survey Telescope and Rapid Response System), and the Catalina Sky Survey.
If an incoming asteroid is detected on a collision course with Earth, NASA has several possibilities at its disposal to deflect or disrupt it depending upon how much warning time is given before the imminent strike and the size, shape, composition of the rocky projectile. One or more of these techniques could be employed to push or pull the object away from potential catastrophe - or break it into pieces. Among the possible methods are:
- Kinetic impactor: It involves sending a spacecraft to collide with the asteroid at very high speed and change the velocity and course of the aster. This is a tested one and proof-of-concept as NASA's Deep Impact in 2005 hit a comet with a flying projectile.
- Gravity tractor: This means to send a spacecraft that will approach the asteroid, and use its gravitational attraction to pull the asteroid away from its trajectory. This one is a slow and gentle method, which requires a long lead time, as well as a precise orbit control.
- Nuclear device: This would have to consist in sending a spacecraft to be detonated tea nuclear explosive close or on the surface of the asteroif, and vaporise or fragment it. This is one radical manner and full risk, which could create more problems than its solve, regarding radioactive debris and unpredictable trajectories.
- Laser ablation: This involves sending a spacecraft to fire a powerful laser beam at the asteroid, and in effect vaporizing or melting its surface. This will create a jet of material which will push off course the asteroid. This system is new, experimental high-energy and high-precision combining laser system.
Conclusion: Asteroids are the most interesting and mysterious celestial bodies from which it is possible to draw lessons not only on the issue of the formation of the solar system but also on its subsequent evolution.
However, they can also pose a threat to Earth and its inhabitants either by coming too close to or colliding with planet. Thus, it is of great significance to be observing and studying these space rocks and be prepared to deal with the threats that might be delivered by them.
Today, at about an hour or so, 2015 AK1 will be within a near miss of the Earth, and this asteroid is approximately akin to the size of an airplane and moving in velocity. However, this asteroid is harmless but reminds us of the necessity to care and constantly take the right actions for the protection of our planet from cosmic troublemakers. –(IVNTV)