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Thanks to the largest asteroid approaching Earth in 2021, at a distance of two million kilometers, according to the US space agency “NASA”, which gave astronomers the opportunity to study a rock formed at the beginning of the solar system.
This rocky body passed at a distance of almost five times the distance between the Earth and the Moon, but this was enough to consider the event as a “potential danger”.
“NASA” counts and records all celestial bodies that can collide with Earth and cause enormous damage, as happened with an asteroid that appeared 66 million years ago over 75% of living beings of our planet.
The asteroid named “2001 FO 32” passed Sunday at the closest point to Earth, according to the Paris Observatory. And the agency “NASA” that it was moving at a speed of 124 thousand kilometers per hour.
This event should allow astronomers to better understand the formation of this rocky body estimated at 900 meters in diameter.
“When the sun’s rays hit the surface of the asteroid, the minerals in the rock absorb certain wavelengths and reflect others,” NASA said.
“By studying the spectrum of light reflected from the surface, astronomers can measure the chemical fingerprints of minerals on the asteroid’s surface,” she added.
Studying asteroids and comets approaching Earth gives scientists a better understanding of the history and work of the solar system. It also helps build a large database of potential threats, including rocky objects capable of destroying the planet in a day.
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