Nudging An Asteroid's Trajectory

"[Although some asteroids, like 2008 TZ3 are described as dangerous, according to space.com, that designation references] complex calculation related to size [larger than 150 metres] and the distance at which the object approaches Earth, among other factors."

Asteroid 388945 will pass us from a distance of about 2.5 million miles away

Planet Earth has been hit by asteroids in the past. Some of those impacts have been historically monumental. Asteroids, rocky pieces of space junk hurtle through outer space at amazing speeds. Like planets these space rocks orbit the sun with a predictable schedule. Greater numbers of asteroids have been detected, of late, attributable to more technologically advanced detection of improved upgraded telescopes. 

Telescopes whose function is to probe outer space for the presence of previously unidentified objects, meteors and asteroids among them. Their detection and study are considered to represent prudence in the first line of defence against potential threats of catastrophic impacts. NASA has assembled a list of potentially harmful asteroids it tracks to keep tabs on.

Its records affirm that for the present no threats exist to Earth from any such impact resulting from years of search, with the assurance that chances of impact are seen to be statistically improbable. Should there arise an asteroid threat, one of sufficient size and approaching close enough in its trajectory to Earth to predict a possible crash, there are several solutions to deploy in defensive technologies by NASA.

 

 

NASA developed a planetary defence spacecraft whose function is to crash into an asteroid at a velocity as extreme as its own, aiming to redirect it away from Earth; in the development of the Double Asteroid Redirection Test (DART). Still, the thought is, there is no reason for complacency and vigilance must never be dropped.

May 16 was the expectation date that a half-kilometre-wide rock, known as 388945 (2008 TZ3) travelling at the incredible speed of 37,400 kilometres an hour, is set to make its closest approach to Earth. At its closest approach, according to Live Science, its speed is 30 times faster than that of sound.

What astrophysicists speak of as 'close' in space terms still is 5.6 million kilometres distant from Earth, and as such, bears no cause for alarm. 2008 TZ3 passes Earth every few years in its orbit around the sun. Its appearance this year is to be the closest such pass until May of 2163.

 

NASA has confirmed that asteroid 388945 (2008 TZ3), which is larger than the Empire State Building in New York City, is hurtling towards Earth. Thankfully, this 1600-foot space rock is expected to pass 3.5-million miles away, but should still be considered a threat. It’s set to make a close approach at 5:18pm ET on May 16th at a speed of just over 18,000 miles per hour   TECHEBLOG