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A space rock known as 2020 WC4 will be “close to Earth” according to NASA, as it will swing off our planet on Saturday, November 28. The asteroid will whiz past our planet at a distance of 429,846 miles. For reference, the Moon is located at an average of 239,000 miles from our planet, in what is known as the lunar distance (LD).
Therefore, the 2020 WC4 will be just 1.8 LD from Earth on Saturday, before continuing its journey around the Sun.
According to the observations, the asteroid travels at an impressive 5.2 kilometers per second. This is the equivalent of nearly 19,000 kilometers per hour.
However, the asteroid is only about six meters wide, according to NASA observations.
At that size, even if it hit Earth, it would simply burn in the planet’s atmosphere, appearing as if it were a shooting star.
However, NASA has classified it as a Near Earth Object (NEO), which allows them to study the solar system system.
NASA said, NEOs are comets and asteroids that have been propelled by the gravitational pull of nearby planets into orbits that allow them to enter the Earth’s neighborhood.
“The scientific interest in comets and asteroids is largely due to their status as relatively unchanged debris from the solar system’s formation process some 4.6 billion years ago.
“The giant outer planets (Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus and Neptune) were formed from a cluster of billions of comets and the remaining parts of this formation process are the comets we see today.”
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The Yarkovsky effect occurs when an asteroid or celestial body changes its orbit due to a small heat push, either by itself expelling gases, or by gravitational pull and push from celestial bodies, including the Sun and Earth. .
In this case, the scientists discovered a small thermal reaction that could slightly alter Apophis’ course and send it to Earth.
A statement from the University of Hawai’i states, “All asteroids need to reactivate the energy they absorb from sunlight to heat in order to maintain thermal balance, a process that slightly changes the asteroid’s orbit. .
“Before the detection of Yarkovsky’s acceleration on Apophis, astronomers had concluded that a potential impact with the Earth in 2068 was impossible.
“The detection of this effect acting on Apophis means that the 2068 impact scenario is still a possibility.
“Further observations are underway to refine the magnitude of the Yarkovksy effect and how it affects Apophis’ orbit.
“Astronomers will know well before 2068 if there is any possibility of impact.”
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