“Astronomical research” clarifies that asteroids collide with Earth towards the end of the year

Dr Gad Al-Qadi, president of the National Institute for Astronomical and Geophysical Research, said that during the remainder of this year, astronomers around the world will witness the sighting of some asteroids approaching Earth for the period (25-30 December 2020), which are at great distances from the planet Earth, As the closest of them will be at a distance twice the distance between the Earth and the Moon and does not represent any threat and it there is no risk of collision or collision, as some sites are common.

Dr Usama Rahmeh, head of the sun research laboratory at the institute, said that among the most important of these asteroids is the asteroid (501647) 2014 SD224, which was discovered on September 22, 2014 by a system monitoring station (Pan-STARRS1) located at the observatory (Haleakala) in Hawaii and with a diameter of approximately 150 meters. It has been observed for the past six years as its orbit becomes fully known and spins in an elliptical orbit around the sun and completes its orbit around the sun in 353.15 days. The asteroid will be at its closest point to Earth on Friday, December 25, 2020 at 8:20 p.m. GMT, at a distance of 0.02 astronomical units, or about 3 million km, which is considered a safe distance, and its brightness will not increase to the brightness of Pluto.

Ashraf Shaker, professor and head of the institute’s astronomy department, added that these celestial objects are being monitored by institute research working groups dealing with the observation of near-Earth objects using telescopes. available at the institute either at the Kattameya Astronomical Observatory or at the headquarters of the main institute in Helwan.

The institute called on all citizens who have questions or requests for information about a natural phenomenon (astronomical or geophysical) to communicate directly with the institute through the communication channels available to clarify any information or answer any questions.