Two large asteroids are all set to pass by Earth today, August 1. According to Nasa’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory, the two asteroids, identified as 2024 OE and 2024 OO, do not pose any immediate threat and will safely pass by our home planet. For scientists and researchers, this passage is seen as a great opportunity for tracking and scientific observation. The latest asteroids 2024 OE and 2024 OO are reportedly 190 feet and 88 feet in diameter, respectively.
This is the second such occurrence in less than a month’s time. In July, it was reported that scientists at the laboratory based in Southern California tracked two asteroids that were set to fly by Earth. One of them had a small moon orbiting around it, while the other had been discovered only 13 days before its nearest approach to Earth. Neither of them posed any risk, however, such asteroids offer practice for planetary defence. These occurrences also give us more details about asteroids, their sizes, rotation, surface details, and vital information about their composition and formation.
Asteroids have become a regular phenomenon, and each time a new asteroid is spotted news feeds are dominated by information about their size, potential threat, and whatnot. Time and again, Nasa has debunked claims about asteroids hitting the Earth. In this article, we will try to understand what asteroids are and why they are important.
What is an asteroid?
In simple words, asteroids are small, inactive rocky objects that orbit the Sun. According to Nasa, asteroids are sometimes known as minor planets as they are likely to be rocky remains from the formation of our solar system over 4 billion years ago.
Asteroids are mostly found circling the Sun, somewhere between Mars and Jupiter, in an area known as the asteroid belt where most of the asteroids dwell. When it comes to size, the largest asteroid 4 Vesta has a diameter of around 530 kms, while the smallest could be less than 33 feet across. Reportedly, the total mass of all the asteroids combined is less than that of our moon.
Not all asteroids are found in the asteroid belt, some can be seen hanging around the orbital paths of other planets. This essentially means that an asteroid and a planet follow the same path around the Sun, and Earth and a few other planets in our solar system have numerous asteroids.
According to Nasa, sometimes asteroids are propelled toward Earth’s neighbourhoods owing to the gravity of the nearby planets. These are also known as Near-Earth Objects or NEOs. According to Nasa’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory, about 99 per cent of NEOs are asteroids. Incidentally, their nearest approach to the Sun is less than Earth’s distance from the Sun.
What is the shape of an Asteroid?
There is no fixed shape for asteroids. However, a few of them are almost spherical and may have pits or craters. Asteroids also rotate around the Sun sometimes they do so waver, and occasionally tumble along the way. Interestingly, asteroids too are known to have their own moons. According to Nasa, over 150 asteroids have been known to have a small companion moon with some even having two. There are also double asteroids, essentially two rocky objects of the same size orbiting each other, and sometimes even triple asteroid systems.
Based on their composition, asteroids are usually classified as C-, S-, and M- types. The C-type are the most common asteroids also known as chondrite. They are known to consist of clay and silicate rocks and are regarded as the most ancient objects in our solar system. The S-type is made of silicate materials and nickel-iron, while the M-type is metallic. Nasa claims that the difference in composition of asteroids is related to how farther they are from the Sun when they formed. Some of the asteroids faced extreme temperatures when they formed and partially melted.
Why are asteroids important?
Asteroids hold the key to understanding the origin of our solar system. The asteroids or space rocks can help scientists with a gamut of information about the history of planets and the sun. Scientists and researchers usually study meteorites which are tiny parts of asteroids that may have passed through the atmosphere and landed on Earth.
Over the years, several Nasa missions have studied asteroids. In 2001, the Near Earth Asteroid Rendezvous – Shoemaker mission landed on Eros, an asteroid near Earth. Similarly, another spacecraft Dawn flew into the asteroid belt in 2011. The mission studied the largest asteroid Vesta and Ceres, which is known as a dwarf planet. Nasa launched the OSIRIS-REx in 2016 to study the asteroid Bennu. The mission scooped samples from Bennu and dropped its first sample on September 24, 2023. The samples from OSIRIS-REx are crucial as they act as ‘time capsules’ for the earliest history of the solar system. These asteroids are known to preserve chemical signatures from a long time ago when the universe was in its infancy.
Can an asteroid destroy Earth?
In simple words, an asteroid as big as a planet can only destroy Earth. According to experts, the damage caused by an asteroid is largely dependent on its size. So far, there are no known impact threats. However, tiny meteors are known to be burning as they pass the Earth’s atmosphere frequently. In fact, the next time you see a shooting star, it could well be a meteor burning up in Earth’s atmosphere. According to the Planetary Science Institute, an asteroid should be at least 16 feet wide when it hits the atmosphere to make it all the way to land. Nasa claims that meteorites as big as a car encounter Earth each year. Also, an asteroid the size of a football field is likely to cross Earth once every 2000 years. The effect of an asteroid impact can be determined by its mass, speed, angle of entry, and where it hits the Earth. So far, statistically, it has been observed that most space rocks have a high chance of falling into the ocean or some largely uninhabited areas of Earth.
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