Asteroid Watch logo.
Dec. 22, 2020
Each day one or more asteroids pass near the Earth. They are of different size, from the largest to the smallest they are all potentially dangerous if they cross the orbit of the Earth (impact).
Artist's view of Asteroid approaching the Earth
In order to prevent us from such a risk, it is necessary to continue to be vigilant and to invest in means of fight such as several programs such as Hera from ESA or Dart from NASA.
Amateur or professional astronomers also play a role of vigilance throughout the world, thank you to them.
You can also be informed directly by a very powerful and easy to use application:
Asteroid Alert (Smartphone & tablet application for Android)
https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=phone.science.AsteroidAlert&hl=en
This is a scientific application that simulates the solar system dynamics using the information provided by the NASA NEO Program. The Near Earth objects and objects close to other planets will be reported in real time. The advanced graphical interface allows you to monitor the orbits of celestial bodies as a function of the elapsed time.
X rays and protons emitted by Sun are also notified to have a complete view of the dangers from space. Notification of near-Earth objects, notifications of high level emissions coming from the sun (X ray and protons) and more. Not available for Apple devices.
Center for Near Earth Object Studies (CNEOS)
Click on the image for enlarge (screen capture)
A division of Caltech in Pasadena, JPL hosts CNEOS for NASA's Near-Earth Object Observations Program in NASA's Planetary Defense Coordination Office. More information about CNEOS, asteroids and near-Earth objects can be found at:
Center for Near Earth Object Studies (CNEOS): https://cneos.jpl.nasa.gov
Next Five Close Approaches
(Screen capture)
Average distance between Earth and the moon is about 239,000 miles (385,000 kilometers).
The Asteroid Watch Widget tracks asteroids and comets that will make relatively close approaches to Earth. The Widget displays the date of closest approach, approximate object diameter, relative size and distance from Earth for each encounter. The object's name is displayed by hovering over its encounter date. Clicking on the encounter date will display a Web page with details about that object.
NASA Asteroid Watch: https://www.jpl.nasa.gov/asteroidwatch/
The Widget displays the next five Earth approaches to within 4.6 million miles (7.5 million kilometers or 19.5 times the distance to the moon); an object larger than about 150 meters that can approach the Earth to within this distance is termed a potentially hazardous object.
For more information about NASA's Planetary Defense Coordination Office, visit:
https://www.nasa.gov/planetarydefense
Images, Text, Credits: NASA/JPL/Orbiter.ch Aerospace/Roland Berga.
Greetings, Orbiter.ch
