NASA reveals Asteroid 2023 XE12 Close Encounter with Earth. NASA has just recently redirected the OSIRIS-REx spacecraft to examine asteroid Apophis, which is expected to make a perilously close method to Planet Earth in 2029. This venture is part of the Space Agency’s broader initiatives to detect, track, and study asteroids in order to reduce unpredictabilities surrounding their close encounters. By leveraging its advanced technology, NASA has uncovered that a large asteroid, equivalent in size to an airplane, is positioned to pass by Earth in the coming days. Get the information on this upcoming close encounter.
Asteroid 2023 XE12: A Cosmic Marvel’s speed, Dimensions, and Facts
NASA’s Centre for Near-Earth Things Research Studies (CNEOS) has appointed the name Asteroid 2023 XE12 to the celestial object. On December 31, this Near-Earth Asteroid (NEA) will come near our planet at a velocity of approximately 42386 kilometers per hour. Throughout its closest strategy, it will pass by Earth at a distance of about 5.6 million kilometers. It should be emphasized that although it is called a Near-Earth Asteroid due to its proximity, there is no predicted impact on our world.
The Apollo group of Near-Earth Asteroids consists of space rocks that go across Earth’s orbit and have semi-major axes more than Earth’s. This group is named after the massive Apollo asteroid, which was discovered by German astronomer Karl Reinmuth in the 1930s.
What are the dimensions of the Asteroid?
The asteroid referred to as 2023 XE12 measures arround 130 feet in size, equivalent to the dimension of an aircraft. Its size is significant, as it is almost dual the dimension of the Chelyabinsk asteroid that caused substantial damage in 2013, injuring nearly 1000 people and damaging over 7000 buildings.
asteroid 2023 XE12 is set to make its first voyage past Planet today, noting the first time it has actualy ever before come close to our world. Following this encounter, the Apollo group asteroid is not expected to make an additional close strategy to Earth in the near future.
Asteroid research study benefits from NASA’s advanced innovation.
NASA uses a range of space-based and ground-based observatories, such as NEOWISE, ALMA, Pans-STARRS1, Catalina Sky Study, and the Hubble Room Telescope, as well as the recently launched James Webb Room Telescope, to find, track, and analyze asteroids in space. Furthermore, spacecraft like Dawn, OSIRIS-REx, and Hayabusa2 have added to the expedition and research of these old celestial bodies, exposing beneficial insights into their composition and history.