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| This image, taken by NASA's Near Earth Asteroid Rendezvous mission in 2000, shows a close-up view of the asteroid Eros. |
Asteroids are one of
the most hazardous objects in the solar system. The NASA keeps close eye on
potentially hazardous objects and allows us to know about asteroids coming
towards Earth. This time, asteroid named as 2004 BL86, will be safely pass
Earth on 26 January, 2015. The size of the asteroid is estimated to be around
650 m by studying reflected brightness of the asteroid. The asteroid of this
size is categorized as Potentially Hazardous Asteroid.
The asteroid of size
larger than 35 meters across can pose a threat to a town or city. The asteroid
of diameter 100 to 150 m is big enough to cause regional devastation to human
settlements unprecedented in human history in the case of a land impact, or a
major tsunami in the case of an ocean impact. Such events occur on an average
once per 10000 year.
Although it is
potentially hazardous asteroid but you don’t need to worry as this will pass
Earth safely. The closest distance between the asteroid and the Earth will
around 1.2 million km (745,000 miles) on 26 January which is about 3.1 times
the distance between moon and Earth.
It will be the closest
known asteroid this large to pass near Earth until 2027, that's when an
asteroid called 1999 AN10 flies by us.
"Monday, January
26 will be the closest asteroid 2004 BL86 will get to Earth for at least the
next 200 years," said Don Yeomans, who is retiring as manager of NASA's
Near Earth Object Program Office at the Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena,
California, after 16 years in the position. "And while it poses no threat
to Earth for the foreseeable future, it's a relatively close approach by a
relatively large asteroid, so it provides us a unique opportunity to observe
and learn more."
The scientists at NASA
are planning to observe this asteroid with microwave. NASA's Deep Space Network
antenna at Goldstone, California, and the Arecibo Observatory in Puerto Rico
will try to obtain the scientific data and radar generated image of the
asteroid 2004 BL86.
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| Animation of Closest approach of Potentially Hazardous Asteroid 2004 BL86. ( Credit: JPL/NASA) |
"When we get our
radar data back the day after the flyby, we will have the first detailed
images," said radar astronomer Lance Benner of JPL, the principal
investigator for the Goldstone radar observations of the asteroid. "At
present, we know almost nothing about the asteroid, so there is bound to be
surprises."
The asteroid was
discovered by a telescope of the Lincoln Near-Earth Asteroid Research (LINEAR)
survey in White Sands, New Mexico in January 2004.
The brightness of the
asteroid 2004 BL86 will be around magnitude 9.5 so it can be easily viewed by
the small telescopes and binoculars. So this will be good opportunity for
amateur astronomers to enjoy the view of large asteroid from such a close
distance.
"I may grab my
favorite binoculars and give it a shot myself," said Yeomans.
"Asteroids are something special. Not only did asteroids provide Earth
with the building blocks of life and much of its water, but in the future, they
will become valuable resources for mineral ores and other vital natural
resources. They will also become the fuelling stops for humanity as we continue
to explore our solar system. There is something about asteroids that makes me
want to look up."
If you don’t have telescope
or binocular then don’t be upset. You can watch the closest approach of
asteroid online on “The Virtual Telescope Project 2.0”. This will provide the live images of closest
approach of asteroid 2004 BL86 with live commentary by their scientific staff.
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| Online observation of Potentially Hazardous Asteroid 2004 BL86. ( Credit:The Virtual Telescope Project) |
NASA detects tracks
and categorizes asteroids and comets using their Earth based and satellite
telescope. The Near Earth Object Program, often referred as “safeguard”, tries
to identify the asteroids which could be potentially Hazardous to our planet.
The asteroid hit in Siberia in 2013 clearly proves the requirement of this type
of programs to save us from the Potentially Hazardous Objects. By 2014, NASA
has listed 1458 known Potentially Hazardous Asteroids which are studied by
various means including optical, radar and infrared to determine various
characteristics of asteroid like size, composition, rotation rate and to more
accurately determine its orbit. Both professional and amateur astronomers participate
in detection of Potentially Hazardous Asteroids.
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