Asteroids often make close approaches to Earth, making it imperative to detect and monitor potential impacts. Although these space rocks rarely hit Earth, their size and history of impacts are enough to spread fear in the scientific community. But asteroids seem to be hitting us not only in real life, but also in video games. Players of Starfield, Bethesda’s new open-world RPG, are reporting problems with asteroids following them everywhere they go! Not only in space, but asteroids also accompany players when they touch the surface of a planet! NASA itself previously responded to Starfield in a humorous way.
In a separate, real-life development, NASA has shed light on an asteroid that will pass Earth today, September 21.
Asteroid 2023 SJ details
The asteroid, designated Asteroid 2023 SJ, is expected to make its closest approach to Earth today, September 21, according to details released by NASA’s Center for Near-Earth Object Studies (CNEOS). Close to Earth. Although this distance may seem long, it is very short in astronomical terms. It is estimated to travel at a speed of 59348 kilometers per hour.
According to NASA, the near-Earth asteroid is not expected to impact the Earth’s surface and is not large enough to be classified as a hazardous object. Asteroid 2023 SJ is estimated to be between 118 feet and 265 feet across, not large enough to be classified as a hazardous object. In terms of size, it is almost as big as an airplane.
It belongs to the Apollo group of near-Earth asteroids, which are Earth-crossing space rocks with semi-major axes larger than Earth. These asteroids are named after the Apollo asteroid discovered in 1862 by German astronomer Carl Reinmuth in the 1930s.
Asteroids were discovered hiding behind the Sun
Most asteroids are found in the main asteroid belt, located between Mars and Jupiter, and are easily seen with the help of advanced ground- and space-based telescopes. However, scientists have now discovered 3 elusive asteroids hiding behind the glare of the Sun!
According to NASA, one of them is the largest Earth-threatening object discovered in the last eight years. To find and observe them, a team traveled to Chile’s Victor M. Blanco used the Dark Energy Camera (DECam) mounted on the 4-meter telescope, a project of NSF’s NOIRLab. The region around the Sun is a very challenging place to find astronomical objects because astronomers must manipulate the light from the Sun.
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