10 space objects that threaten the Earth
Contents:
• Mankind faces many dangers, against which even our most important weapon, scientific and technological progress, is powerless. One of them is a collision with space rocks (asteroids).
• Is humanity in for a fate that perhaps befell the dinosaurs? Sentry, an intelligent system for assessing the risks of falling space objects, knows the answer to this question. It tracks asteroids that have a chance of colliding with Earth. We will tell you more about the ten most dangerous of them.
| Name | Diameter, m | Collision date | Chance |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2010RF12 | 9 | 05/09/2095 23:50 | 1/16 |
| 1979XB | 700 | 14/12/2113 18:07 | 1/1.84E6 |
| 2019DS1 | 26 | 26/02/2082 19:15 | 1/787 |
| 2000SG344 | 30 | 16/09/2071 00:26 | 1/2096 |
| 99942 Apophis | 375 | 12/04/2068 15:13 | 1/531914 |
| 2009JF1 | 13 | 06/05/2022 08:12 | 1/4464 |
| 2008UB7 | 50 | 31/10/2060 18:26 | 1/36101 |
| 2006JY26 | 8 | 03/05/2074 01:00 | 1/86 |
| 2008JL3 | 30 | 01/05/2027 09:07 | 1/13280 |
| 2012QD8 | 90 | 08/03/2047 23:18 | 1/188679 |
10QD2012
The maximum chance of a collision is 1 chance in 188.
Estimated date – March 8, 2047 23:18
• Opens the list of potential deaths from space celestial body with a diameter of 90 meters. In August 2012, it flew past the Earth at a distance of 5,9 million km. And although the asteroid flew away, he promised to return in 2047.
• True, the likelihood that he will decide to make a closer acquaintance with us is very small.
9JL2008
The chance of a collision is 1 chance in 13.
Estimated date – May 1, 2027 9:07 am
• May 2008 turned out to be fruitful for astronomers – they discovered as many as five asteroids. But only one of them was awarded a hit in the top 10 space objects that threaten the Earth. It was named 2008JL3.
• However, like the tenth place in the ranking, this heavenly guest was not as deadly as it seemed. It is small, only 30 meters in diameter, and the probability of its collision with the Earth is extremely low. The next time it will pass by the Earth is very close, in 2027.
8JY2006
The chance of a collision is 1 chance in 86.
Estimated date – May 3, 2074 1:00 am
• A tiny asteroid with a diameter of only 8 meters was recorded on telescope screens in May 2006. And although compared to the rest of the participants in the rating, the probability of its collision with the Earth is quite high, because of its size, the “space threat” causes only cheerful laughter.
• Most likely, a fiery end awaits the baby in the upper atmosphere. The inhabitants of the Earth will be able to observe this in 2074.
7UB2008
The chance of a collision is 1 chance in 36.
Estimated date – October 31, 2060 18:26
• The sixty-meter asteroid 2008UB7 was discovered, as you might guess from the name, in 2008, in October, seven days before it approached the Earth at a distance of 6,3 million km.
• Although, judging by the range of the flight, it is hardly worth fearing its fall in the foreseeable future, scientists have already calculated the estimated power of the explosion. It turned out to be equal to 16 megatons of TNT. Like it or not, humanity will know in October 2060, when 2008UB7 will again approach our planet.
6JF2009
The chance of a collision is 1 chance in 4464.
Estimated date – May 6, 2023 8:12 am
• Well, in fact, who gave these scientists into the hands of telescopes! And just a year after the discovery of danger number 6, they discovered another threat to the Earth in the dark depths of space.
• Fortunately, the diameter of the danger is not the most outstanding – only 13 meters. But we will meet him before everyone else – in June 2023. Judging by the diameter of the threat, most likely, humanity will survive this meeting. Unless he gets the opportunity to admire a small, albeit bright, fiery cloud that has suddenly blossomed high in the sky.
5. 99942 Apophis
The chance of a collision is 1 chance in 531.
Estimated date – April 12, 2068 15:13
• A rather dramatic story is connected with this asteroid, the only one on the list to receive its own name. It was opened in 2004 in Australia. Far (so far) from us, the cosmic body has a diameter of 375 meters, and judging by the calculations of scientists, it belongs to the so-called. Aton asteroids.
• This means that part of the orbit of such asteroids intersects with the orbit of our planet. Nothing good, of course, this observation of the Earth did not promise. Excited scientists made calculations, and it turned out that in 2029, a blind cosmic force will strike at our world. The probability of this event was also calculated – it turned out to be 3%. Therefore, the asteroid was honored with its own name, in honor of a particularly cruel god from the Egyptian pantheon, who had one, but important goal in life: to destroy the Sun.
• Fortunately, everything turned out to be far from so terrible, and you don’t have to stock up on cans of stew in anticipation of the coming apocalypse. In the next, 2005, new studies of the asteroid showed that in 2029 it will pass on a tangent. And the inhabitants of the Northern Hemisphere will even be able to see it with their own eyes in the sky in the form of a luminous dot. And this is where all his "adventures" will end.
4SG2000
The chance of a collision is 1 chance in 2096.
Estimated date – September 16, 2071 00:26
• Until December 2004, it was believed that this small celestial body with a diameter of only 30 meters had the highest chance of meeting us directly. True, on a scale of risk, its impact was assessed as small. Still, this asteroid is very small and, most likely, would burn up beautifully in the upper atmosphere.
• Later, he had a competitor (fifth place in the ranking of space threats – Apophis), and everyone forgot about the baby. Still, 700 meters is not 30 for you. And even later it turned out that the probability of a collision is small – 1 chance out of 417.
• By the way, there are very interesting rumors about this small celestial body. The orbit of 2000SG344 is very reminiscent of Earth's. According to scientists, in 1971 this stellar wanderer once again visited the vicinity of our planet. And what else happened in 1971 so cosmic? That's right, it was then that another Apollo-class rocket, version 14, was launched.
• The astronauts flew to the moon and returned, bringing with them about 50 kg of lunar soil as a souvenir. And these two circumstances suggest that the cosmic body is not so cosmic, and maybe even completely man-made. For example, it could be the remains of a Saturn-class launch vehicle. After all, there was already a precedent when some scientists considered the SIVB launch vehicle floating in space many years after the Apollo 12 flight to be a natural asteroid.
3DS2019
The chance of a collision is 1 chance in 787.
Estimated date – February 26, 2082 19:15
• This is a newcomer to the ranks of the most dangerous space objects for the Earth. 2019DS1 was discovered quite recently, at the end of February, when it once again flew past the Earth.
• This year, the distance from the asteroid to our planet was quite large – 726 thousand km. And, let's add, quite safe.
• The next time the heavenly guest will pass through the Earth's orbit in 2082. At this time, 2019DS1 will try to establish closer contact with the Earth, flying up to a distance of only 165 thousand km. And there is a small, but chance that it will suddenly change its trajectory and fall on our heads.
2. 1979XB
Collision probability – 1/1.84e6.
Estimated date – December 14, 2113 18:07
• In second place of potential asteroid threats to humanity, according to Sentry, is an asteroid discovered 40 years ago by Australian astronomers with a diameter of as much as 700 meters.
• It will take a long time to wait for a potential collision, because even in the worst case scenario, the asteroid will reach us only in 2113. However, its diameter makes one be wary of even an insignificant chance of 1/1.84E6. But what if?
• If so, the consequences for the Earth could be catastrophic. The earth's surface bears many traces of a collision with uninvited guests – like a giant Canadian crater with a diameter of 200 km, formed from the impact of an asteroid with a diameter of 5-10 km.
• The second place in the rating, of course, is smaller, but it is capable of digging a hole a couple of kilometers wide, as its colleague, which formed the Berringer crater in the USA, has already done for 50 thousand years. And what if the meteorite impact site falls on a densely populated city? If the worst scenario is realized, there is only one consolation – that we, dear readers, will not live to see this gloomy date.
1RF2010
The chance of a collision is 1 chance in 16.
Estimated date – September 5, 2095 23:50
• The greatest danger from space to the Earth is the asteroid 2010RF12. Its diameter is modest – only 9 meters, but it will crash into the Earth with the highest probability of all those listed. According to scientists, it is 5%.
• 2010RF12 has already passed dangerously close to the Earth, at a distance of only 79 thousand km. True, only penguins could admire it, since it was visible only from the South Pole. Fortunately, due to its small diameter, 2010RF12 is unlikely to cause significant damage and is likely to disintegrate in the atmosphere.
• The maximum that the asteroid will be capable of is an impressive ball of fire, like at a rock concert. The power of the explosion will be inferior to the Chelyabinsk one, which, as we remember, was 17 meters in diameter.
• Does this mean that the danger from outer space to the Earth is greatly exaggerated? Scientists themselves say that visible asteroids are not so terrible as invisible ones. For example, the same Chelyabinsk meteorite was not recorded by any observatory until it broke windows in the houses of city residents. Who knows what unknown danger creeps up to us from the endless darkness of space? Will the Earth be able to avoid destruction? Not us, so our descendants will definitely know about it.
