Everest-sized ‘killer’ asteroid will approach Earth on the 27th

Next Thursday, June 27, a massive asteroid known as the “planet killer” will approach Earth at its closest approach in the last 125 years. 1.7 to 3.9 kilometers wide (according to the website SpaceReference.org), 2011 UL21 is a Mount Everest-sized mountain moving at 93,000 kilometers per hour.

Although 2011 UL21 is classified as “potentially hazardous” due to its capacity for planet-scale destruction It will pass 6,641,274 kilometers from our planet. Revolving around the Sun every 3.09 years space object larger than 99% of near-Earth asteroids (NEAs) are known according to the European Space Agency (ESA).

Compared to other “giant killers” that have passed by Earth, asteroid 2011 UL21 is somewhat modest, about ten times smaller than asteroid Vredefort, the largest space rock to hit our planet (forming the giant crater of the same name). , And It is at least five times smaller than the famous rock that wiped out the dinosaurs.

How to observe the passage of asteroid 2011 UL21 from Earth?

It will be possible to follow UL21’s closest approach in 2011 with a live broadcast carried out by the Virtual Telescope Project (VTP), which will project an image of the asteroid by the Bellatrix Astronomical Observatory in Ceccano, Italy. But stay tuned as the broadcast will start on June 27 at 17:00 (Brasília time).and approach will occur in approximately 15 minutes.

We The asteroid will also be visible in the night sky on June 28 and 29It has a brightness similar to that of Proxima Centauri and can only be seen using a telescope.

Seeing the 2011 UL21 is a unique opportunity, Because the asteroid will only be this close to Earth in 2089, when it will again move about 2.7 million kilometers away from the planet, which is at least 2.5 times closer than the current approach, according to the Earth Propulsion Laboratory NASA jet.

Another object to celebrate Asteroid Day

Surprisingly, what should have been a unique event escalated further last week. The asteroid 2024 MK was discovered by South Africa’s ATLAS observatory as it was heading towards Earth.. The rock, estimated to be 160 meters in diameter, will “graze” our planet, passing a distance of less than 300,000 kilometers, representing 80% of the distance to the Moon.

Although it is classified as a Potentially Hazardous Asteroid (PHA) and is on the NASA and ESA impact risk list, 2024 MK will make a “safe” approach to Earth, according to the European space agency. The newly discovered asteroid can only be seen with optical instruments in Brazilian skies. Saturday night (29), on the eve of Asteroid Day.

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