An asteroid flew past Earth the other day , and there is a minuscule but not insignificant chance it will hit us when it return in 2079 .
call 2012 TC4 , the asteroid fly about 42,000 kilometers ( 26,000 miles ) above Antarctica earlyThursday , October 12 , about a tenth the distance between Earth and the Moon .
Studies during this flyby should peg down the sizing of this asteroid a bit more . We know it ’s about 15 to 30 metre ( 45 to 100 ft ) across , roughly the size of a sign . That ’s about the same size as the asteroid that explode above Chelyabinsk in Russia inFebruary 2013 .
It takes 609 days for 2012 TC4 to orbit the Sun , but owe to the particulars of its and our orbit we will not see it again until 2050 , and then 2079 . The risk of an encroachment this time around was essentially nothing , but in 2079 it is one in 750 – or 0.13 per centum .
“ We know today that it will also not gain the Earth in the twelvemonth 2050 , but the close-fitting flyby in 2050 might forfend the asteroid such that it could hit the Earth in the yr 2079 , ” Rüdiger Jehn of the European Space Agency ’s Near - Earth Object program toldAFP .
That chance is still very small . Even if it did hit Earth , the force would be minuscule . Paul Chodas from NASA ’s Center for Near Earth Object Studies toldSpace.comit “ would be merely a flash through the ambiance and a breakup – a very bright powerhouse , basically . ”
A unretentive movie of asteroid 2012 TC4 taken by the Kiso Schmidt scope in Nagano , Japan .
So , thankfully , there ’s probably not too much to worry about . But this asteroid is interesting because scientists have been using it as a trial running game to make for a future cataclysmal asteroid impact , which could end life on Earth .
" This cause is a squad effort that involves more than a dozen observatories , universities , and science laboratory around the world so we can collectively memorise the strengths and limitations of our close - Earth aim watching capability , " Vishnu Reddy from the University of Arizona , who lead the project to study the asteroid , said in astatement .
Currently , there is no jeopardy of a devastating impact . Perhaps the biggest terror is 2009 FD , an asteroid 160 time ( 535 feet ) across that has a one in 630 opportunity of hitting Earth between 2185 and 2198 .
On NASA’slist of potential encroachment , 2012 TC4 outrank only 13th . And its pocket-sized size is such that we really would n’t have much to worry about .
But an asteroid wipe out the dinosaurs , and the fortune are we might one day be confront with a exchangeable terror . make certain we cantrack asteroids , and even prepare what we would do if one was heading our room , is tremendously important .
