An Asteroid Hit Earth Right After It Was Spotted By A Telescope!
Friday, June 28, 2019 IST
NASA is constantly updating us on any sights of asteroids near our Earth along with their probability of hitting our planet. For instance, just last week, ESA predicted that asteroid 2006 QV89 has a 1-in-7000 chance of hitting our Earth in September. And in case you’re not already aware, asteroids can potentially cause a lot of damage to our planet if they ever manage to reach us. And apparently, an asteroid, named 2019 MO, actually collided with our planet last weekend before burning off in the sky near Puerto Rico.
2019 MO (or NEOCP A10eoM1), an asteroid that was almost the size of a car (4-meter diameter) had already been detected by the ATLAS systems based at Mauna Loa on Hawaii island before it entered Earth. It was observed almost four times within a short span of 30 minutes by ATLAS on the morning of June 22. ATLAS systems comprises of two telescopes that are constantly analyzing the night sky, twice a week. In fact, as per the University of Hawaii, ATLAS manages to track nearly 100 asteroids with every year ranging in size from 30 meters and upwards. However, 2019 MO was a smaller asteroid which is why it got completely burned up on entering the Earth’s atmosphere.
NASA JPL (Jet Propulsion Laboratory) also analyzed the first few observations of the asteroid and assigned it an impact rating of 2, meaning the asteroid couldn't have affected our Earth in a major way (which was true). Also, the fact that the telescopes were able to track the asteroid prior to it entering the Earth point towards the advancement in the current scientific and astronomy systems. This is because detecting asteroids via telescope is not a very common occasion, as pointed out by CNET. So although the 2019 MO was a small and harmless asteroid that didn’t manage to cause any colossal damage to our Earth, space agencies are constantly on the lookout for asteroids that might actually cause potential damage.
Related Topics
Related News & Articles
Google's doodle for Earth Day sends an applicable message about environmental change as researchers and others prepare for the March for Science on Saturday.
Recently posted . 730 views . 7 min read
WASHINGTON: Nasa said Monday that its planet hunter satellite TESS had discovered an Earth-sized world within the habitable range of its star, whic...
Recently posted . 590 views . 2 min read
Have you been thinking about implementing AI in your business processes all these days? What’s stopping you from doing that? Why didn’t you take the plu...
Recently posted . 890 views . 2 min read
Sometimes, 24 hours are not enough in a day. Many of the work gets postponed to next day if not because of laziness then the shortage of time. If you ever wished ...
Recently posted . 604 views . 3 min read
NASA says asteroid identified as 1998 HL1 is approaching towards the Earth at a staggering speed of 25,000 miles per hour. A 3,248 feet space rock can easily wipe o...
Recently posted . 519 views . 3 min read
Trending News & Articles
ALMATY: Hour upon hour, day upon day, Omir Bekali and other detainees in far western China's new indoctrination camps had to disavow the...
Recently posted . 191K views . 1 min read
If you have payed attention to the belly buttons of people on the beach or the members of your family, you have probably noticed that they have different shapes and...
Recently posted . 8K views . 2 min read
In this age of terror, there might be nothing more terrifying than the thought of an attack carried out with chemical weapons. We’ve all heard the horrific ...
Recently posted . 3K views . 4 min read
Body fitness is one thing that everyone wants to maintain irrespective of age. Going to the gym and doing some great exercise always helps to maintain your body fit...
Recently posted . 3K views . 2 min read
More in Global
Getting them right can help you access funds quickly and fulfil your financial needs with ease.
Recently posted. 514 views . 0 min read
A spokeswoman for Singapore Airlines told AFP that Flight SQ22 departed at approximately 11:35pm (1535 GMT) with 150 passengers and 17 crew on board.
Recently posted. 729 views . 1 min read
Success isn’t a coincidence. Success takes perseverance and hard work. However, there is another factor that is usually ignored: emotional and mental strength...
Recently posted. 580 views . 1 min read
Recently posted . 483 views
Recently posted . 488 views
Recently posted . 1K views
Recently posted . 1K views
Recently posted . 1K views . 49 min read
Recently posted . 1K views . 52 min read
Nearly 120 children were taken ill after eating a meal at a school and admitted to a hospital in Kerala
Recently posted. 686 views . 0 min read
If you haven’t been living under a rock, you might be aware of the major milestone that Google reached. Google has been able to revolutionize computing in t...
Recently posted. 646 views . 2 min read