Three asteroids are currently approaching Earth, scientists say, including one massive object that will pass the planet on Christmas day. NASA has designated the “Christmas asteroid” as asteroid 501647, and say that it will come shockingly close to the planet. Its size is comparable to the Statue of Liberty, or the length of two football fields end to end.
NASA has been tracking this Christmas asteroid since 2014. It is classified as an Aten asteroid — meaning that it has a consistent orbit that regularly brings it within proximity to Earth. It is traveling at a speed of over six miles per second, and will come as close as about 1.8 million miles from the Earth’s surface. While that is a considerable distance by our standards, that is only 0.02019 astronomical units when it comes to space travel. NASA has been tracking the asteroid because it is considered a “potentially hazardous Near-Earth Object” (NEO), but the agency does not believe it is a threat to humans right now.
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Two other, similar asteroids are on their way to Earth and are expected to pass by around Christmas. However, they are smaller than asteroid 501647, and will not come quite as close either. None of these natural satellites are a threat to human life as far as NASA can tell.
NASA tracks a staggering 25,000 Near-Earth Objects in the hopes of predicting if one will ever become a danger to the planet, or to human life on it. They categorize anything that comes within 1.3 astronomical units (about 121 million miles) of Earth to be “potentially hazardous” and worth tracking, but so far, thankfully none have become a real danger. The objects must also be about 460 feet across to gain NASA’s attention.
These days, the future of space travel and the study of astronomy look more exciting than ever, with a mix of concrete projects like this one and groundbreaking new discoveries on the horizon. NASA just recently announced its plans to put more Americans on the moon as part of a long-term plan to send a manned mission to Mars. The Artemis project will put the first woman on the moon in 2024.
Meanwhile, the Search for Extraterrestrial Intelligence (SETI) saw an exciting update this week when California scientists revealed that they were studying one of the most promising radio signals ever received. The signal came from the closest star to ours — Proxima Centauri, which is known to have two planets, at least one of which is habitable. A number of tests remain, but researchers say this is the most exciting signal detected since the so-called “Wow! signal” in 1977. Whatever is on the horizon for humanity, it is clear that astronomy will play a prominent role.
