One 2.3 km asteroid in diameter — greater than 99% of all known near-Earth objects — should pass close to our planet this Thursday (27).
Despite the classification of astronomers, the asteroid (415029) 2011 UL21 It shouldn’t get that close. Even at its closest point to Earth, it must pass at a distance about 17 times greater than the distance between our planet and the Moon (about 6.5 million kilometers).
The asteroid passes “close” to Earth every 34 years, as the two celestial bodies are in “11:34 resonance” — meaning that for every 11 orbits around the asteroid’s Sun, Earth completes 34 orbits. .
(415029) 2011 UL21 revolves around the Sun in a strongly inclined orbit, which is unusual for such large objects, which usually orbit closer to our star.
This inclined orbit probably has to do with the influence of Jupiter’s gravity, which is a large planet. Its gravitational influence can even deflect asteroids towards Earth.
Two asteroids in the same week
(415029) 2011 UL21 is not the only asteroid that will pass close to our planet this week.
O asteroid 2024 MK, which is between 120 and 260 meters, will pass just 290 thousand km from Earth on Saturday (29). The celestial body will come closer to our planet than the Moon (which is approximately 384,400 km away).
There is no risk of collision between this asteroid and our planet. However, the fact that he was discovered just a week before his passing It’s a little worrying.
An asteroid the size of 2024 MK would cause considerable damage if it came our way and, therefore, discovering its arrival a few days earlier left the scientific community alert to the constant need to improve technologies capable of detecting objects close to Earth.
Asteroid 2024 MK will be visible in the sky on Saturday, with the help of binoculars or a telescope.
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