There is no certainty: 2020 was a very rocky year and, despite some optimism, 2021 has not started much better. We are still trapped in the midst of a global pandemic, the government is more direct in pressuring campaigners than in resolving the climate crisis they are complaining about, and – according to NASA – a potentially dangerous Asteroid is passing uncomfortably close to Earth.
In particular, Asteroid 2001 FO32 will sail past the planet on March 21st. Moving at just under 77,000 miles per hour, measuring about one kilometer in diameter, it will be the largest and fastest known asteroid in 2021.
So, is it time to dig the bunker underground, or give up completely and go to a quarantine raven, because who cares about COVID against an incident extinct level? That’s not all, explains Alan Fitzsimmons, an astronomer and professor of astronomy at Queen’s University Belfast.
“The impact of a small distance, say 200 to 300m across, could destroy a small state or country,” he says. “An asteroid one kilometer across or more could affect global climate which can lead to severe food shortages, and in fact damage near the point of impact.”
This is not just encouraging, but he says that there is no need to worry about Asteroid 2001 FO32: next 200 years. “While it will have close approaches in that period – such as March 22, 2052 – these provide useful opportunities to study and learn more about large, near-Earth asteroids,” and we can do it without worries ”.
In fact, we seem to be relatively safe from asteroid threats for some time. According to Fitzsimmons: “NASA-funded investigations have now identified almost all of the largest asteroids and confirmed that they are not a threat in the next two to three centuries.” , he said, it is important to focus on smaller asteroids: “to find them and find out where they are going.” Asteroids that have the opportunity to pass through the atmosphere and hitting the earth passing closer to us than the moon around every five to 10 years.
We may think we are lucky that Asteroid 2001 FO32 will leave us unnoticed on March 21, but what if you want to see it fly past in the night sky? Unfortunately – “or luckily!” Fitzsimmons notes – you won’t see much if you don’t have access to a proper telescope. “At its closest it will still be two million kilometers away and will be 100,000 times weaker than the weakest stars you can see.”
Because the asteroid is moving so fast, observers with telescopes may be able to detect motion – mapped against distant stars – in real time.