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Two asteroids flew over the Earth this weekend. They were detected hours after their overflight. Why do astronomers detect objects near the Earth only when the space rocks are already close to our planet? ( Pixabay )
NASA discovered two asteroids near the Earth only after the space rocks survived our planet
2018 NX and 2018 NW
The two tiny asteroids 2018 NX and 2018 NW snuck past the Earth last weekend and were only discovered hours after their overflight. They flew over our original planet at distances of 72,000 miles and 76,000 miles respectively, about one-third of our distance from the moon.
The Minor Planet Center of the International Astronomical Union said that scientists from an observatory on the Palomar Mountain California detected asteroids on Sunday.
Astronomers estimate that space rocks extended between 16 feet and 50 feet in diameter. This size is relatively small compared to other asteroids close to the Earth.
The space rocks may have crossed the Earth almost at the same time, but they did not travel in pairs. The asteroid 2018 NW moved towards our planet five times faster than the 2018 NX.
The duo traveled relatively close to the Earth, but they posed no risk because they were far enough not to get into our atmosphere.
Asteroid 2018 LA
This is not the first time that an asteroid has been discovered only after passing near the Earth. Last month, the 2018 LA asteroid was discovered just before it hit the atmosphere. The rock of space is broken into several pieces after breaking into space. He finally fell and illuminated the sky over Botswana when he exploded and became a fireball meteor.
"The discovery of the 2018 LA asteroid is only the third time that an asteroid has been discovered on an impact trajectory" Paul Chodas, Center for Near-object Studies from the Earth (CNEOS) to the JPL. "It is also only the second time that the high probability of an impact was predicted well before the event itself."
Among the reasons that asteroids can be difficult to spot until they are very close are their relatively small size
Protecting Earth from asteroids
Nearby asteroids do not are not often a threat to the Earth, but space agencies are working on strategies that can help protect the planet from these objects. An asteroid, after all, is blamed for the extinction of dinosaurs in prehistoric times.
NASA is currently working on the spacecraft called HAMMER (Mission Hypervelocity Asteroid Mitigation for Emergency Response). The spacecraft is intended to crash on a small asteroid to change course. HAMMER will also use nuclear weapons for large asteroids to divert their trajectory
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