Discover the fascinating world of asteroids with the Virtual Telescope Project, operated by Italy’s Bellatrix Observatory. This platform is live-streaming stunning views of asteroids, including exciting flybys.
While many smaller asteroids zoom past Earth unobserved, some create spectacular displays, streaking through our atmosphere as bright fireballs.
The Chelyabinsk meteor, which impacted Russia in 2013, is the largest known space rock to enter Earth’s atmosphere. Its explosion caused significant damage, shattering windows and affecting the Chelyabinsk region.
The tremendous energy of the explosion was equivalent to 30 times that of the atomic bomb dropped on Hiroshima, according to NASA. The Chelyabinsk meteor weighed around 11,000 tons and had a diameter of roughly 59 feet, making it slightly smaller than asteroid 2026 JH2, though the latter’s precise dimensions are still being determined.
Astronomers leverage a network of ground and space-based telescopes to keep tabs on asteroids and comets that may approach Earth. NASA’s Near Earth Observation Program plays a key role in identifying potentially hazardous asteroids and analyzing their orbits to assess any risks.
One asteroid currently under close scrutiny is Apophis, anticipated to approach Earth even more closely than asteroid 2026 JH2 in the years ahead.
Spanning approximately 1,200 feet in diameter, asteroid Apophis is projected to come within 20,000 miles of Earth on April 13, 2029.
NASA’s OSIRIS-APEX spacecraft is set to rendezvous with Apophis in June 2029 to investigate how Earth’s gravitational influence affects the orbits and physical characteristics of such space rocks. This mission follows the groundbreaking OSIRIS-REx mission, which returned the first-ever asteroid samples to Earth in 2023.
Having been in space since its launch in 2016, the OSIRIS-APEX mission faces potential budget cuts under the fiscal year 2027 proposal from the Trump administration. If these cuts proceed, OSIRIS-APEX could be among over 50 NASA missions slated for cancellation.
Source: www.nbcnews.com
