On the night of Friday, an asteroid rushes by so close to the earth as probably no other before it. This is confirmed by NASA and indicates that the spectacle will not pose a threat to earthlings.
An asteroid passes exceptionally close to Earth on Friday night. The celestial body called “2023 BU” reached the closest point to the earth on Friday at 1:27 a.m. German time, as announced by the US space agency Nasa.
Then the asteroid, about the size of a delivery truck, rushes past the southern tip of South America at an altitude of only 3600 kilometers. According to Nasa, there is no risk of an impact. For comparison: Geostationary satellites are around 36,000 kilometers from Earth, the ISS space station around 400 kilometers.
Even if “2023 BU” was heading straight for Earth, with its comparatively small diameter of 3.5 to 8.5 meters, it would largely burn up as a fireball when it entered the atmosphere, according to NASA. In all likelihood, however, it will be one of the closest approaches to Earth that has ever been recorded, the statement said.
The amateur astronomer Gennady Borissow discovered the celestial body at the Margo Observatory in Crimea a few days ago. Borissov made a name for himself in 2019 when he used a homemade telescope to discover a comet crossing our solar system on its journey from deep space. Comet 2I/Borisov attracted worldwide interest among astronomers at the time, who confirmed its observations.
International observatories immediately targeted Borissov’s most recent discovery in order to determine the orbit of “2023 BU” and the possible risks for the Earth. A threat from the asteroid could then be quickly ruled out, as Nasa scientist Davide Farnocchia explained.
Researchers have identified around 27,000 asteroids near Earth, of which around 10,000 are more than 140 meters in diameter. None are known to be able to crash directly into our planet in the foreseeable future.
Last October, NASA succeeded for the first time in changing the direction of movement of an asteroid through the impact of a probe. The background to the experiment is the question of how the earth could be protected from approaching celestial bodies.
An asteroid impact around 66 million years ago is the leading theory among scientists as to why the dinosaurs became extinct.
A new regulation will come into force from February 2023: Drivers will soon have to add an important product to their first-aid kit: a medical mask. If a mask is not included in the medical box, a police check could result in a fine of 5 euros.
Two people were killed and seven injured in a knife attack on a regional train from Kiel to Hamburg on Wednesday. A suspect attacked travelers with a knife before arriving at Brokstedt station. He was arrested shortly thereafter. All the latest news in the ticker.
