The Most Threatening Asteroid Just got Downgraded to “Harmless”. No Impact in 2052

It is comforting to know that there are people who are paid to watch the night sky to make sure we are aware of an asteroid hitting the Earth. The likelihood of a planet-killer-sized asteroid coming out of nowhere is extremely unlikely due to technology and near- Earth surveys. If they are small, they get enough attention to tell if they pose a threat or not. The European Space Agency is proud to announce they were able to remove one of the most threatening asteroids from their list.

The Mount Lemmon observatory was the first to detect the asteroid. There were around a dozen near-Earth asteroids that were discovered that night. It was put on a possible near-miss path with Earth sometime in 2052.

The equivalent of six megaton of TNT would be released into the atmosphere at the height of only 9 kilometers. 400 times the strength of the nuclear bomb dropped on Hiroshima is the most common metric for high energy impacts.

There is only one time in recent history that an asteroid of that size has hit Earth. The Annual Asteroid Day was celebrated over a remote part of Siberia, thanks to the release of 12 megaton of energy by the Tunguska. Three people are thought to have died when the forest was flattened. The result of such an impact could be catastrophic.

The event was in the back of asteroid defenders' minds as they collected follow up data. Their nerves were put to the test by another event. Further observations were impossible after the asteroid disappeared.

The Very Large Telescope is one of the best tools for asteroid-hunting, so scientists waited and planned to collect more data with it. They were ready when the asteroid came out. They captured an image of an asteroid.

According to the observation, there is a zero chance that the first asteroid of the 21st century will hit Earth. For the foreseeable future, it won't be a hazard.

A few asteroids have been removed from the dangerous list after a sub-optimal blocking maneuver. The asteroid was removed from the list after the moon interfered with observations. There was a chance of an asteroid hitting July 4th, 2023, which would have been the most destructive firework display of all time.

Many plans are in place, and they are better discussed in other articles, but the teams of asteroid defenders will keep a lookout.

You can learn more.

The impact in 2052 was ruled out by the agency.

The asteroid is safe, according to observations by the European Space Agency.

Astronomers were practicing what would happen if a potentially dangerous asteroid was found.

It is possible to blow up an asteroid just a few months before it hits the earth.