The asteroid was discovered only a month ago, and the case raises doubts about the ability of scientists to influence the orbit of objects that endanger the planet
At 09:37 (Israel time), as it approached the sun, today (Monday) the asteroid 2001 YB5 passed the earth at a distance of 600 thousand km. This is twice the distance of the moon, and is considered close in cosmic terms. The size of the asteroid reaches about 300 meters - big enough to wipe out an entire country if it were to hit the Earth. The asteroid was discovered only a month ago and although there was no real danger of a collision, astronomers say that its proximity reminds us how many objects are in space, and how possible it is to hit the Earth. An object that reaches a kilometer could destroy almost all the inhabitants of the earth.
The asteroid was discovered in early December by the NEAT telescope, which searches for near-Earth objects from Mount Palmer in California. Astronomers call it the Apollo Object, because its orbit is elliptical and it crosses the orbits of Earth, Mars and Venus. It orbits the sun every 1,321 days. The astronomers also noted that there is a chance that it will hit the Earth in the future. Two days ago, two Czech astronomers discovered that it is approaching the Earth.
Dr. Benny Pacer from John Moores University in Liverpool, said: "The fact that the object was discovered only a month ago calls into question our ability to do anything in the future, if an asteroid is on a collision course with Earth. A month is not enough time to influence such processes."
Such a close encounter is unusual. The only object that will come closer than the distance recorded today is the asteroid 1999 AN10 which will pass by the Earth on August 7, 2027. Astronomers and archaeologists believe that every 5,000 years an asteroid of this size hits the Earth. But this is an assessment based more on feeling than on facts.
