Unexpectedly, this asteroid was found just a few days before it was scheduled to fly by the planet.
Hyderabad: On Thursday, an asteroid known as 2023 BU made one of its closest encounters to the Earth.
According to reports, the asteroid, which is about the size of a truck, sped through 3,600 kilometres above the southernmost tip of South America. Contrary to predictions, the asteroid missed Earth.
Its Scout impact hazard assessment system, used by NASA to make the projections, is credited with eliminating the possibility of a collision. An asteroid of that magnitude, if it had struck the Earth, would have destroyed 30 kilometres of the region even before it touched down.
The size of 2023 BU is estimated to be between 3.5 and 8.5 metres. Gennady Borisov, an amateur astronomer in the Crimea who also found an interstellar comet in 2019, made the initial observation of 2023 BU.
The asteroid was near enough to the Earth that the planet’s gravitational influence changed its course. Without that, the asteroid would have needed 359 days to complete its orbit around the sun. Its orbit is anticipated to lengthen to 425 days following the close encounter with the planet.
Unexpectedly, this asteroid was found just a few days before it was scheduled to fly by the planet. Evidently, the majority of smaller asteroids are frequently neglected, and the technology to find them is not particularly advanced.
The Centre for Near Earth Object Studies has previously discovered over 18,000 asteroids smaller than 100 metres, therefore experts say we are improving at tracking these smaller asteroids.
