An amateur astronomer from Brazil discovered a large, "potentially dangerous" asteroid that flew by
Asteroid 2020 QU6 is about 1,000 meters wide— as the researchers noted, it is large enough to cause a “global catastrophe” if it collides with the Earth. However, according to a statement from the Planetary Society, it does not pose any danger to our planet, as it passed by it at a distance of more than 40 million km, which is more than 100 times the distance between the Earth and the Moon.
“In the news we hear more and more often about the openingasteroids, primarily because we are getting better at finding and tracking near-Earth asteroids, - said the chief scientist of the Planetary Society Bruce Betts. "Asteroids don't appear suddenly, some are just too far away and we can't see them."
It turned out that the Moon is covered with rust.
Asteroid 2020 QU6 discovered by an amateur astronomerLeonardo Amaral at the Campo dos Amarais observatory near Sao Paulo, Brazil. In 2019, Amaral received a $ 8,500 grant from the Planetary Society to purchase improved telescopic equipment that will allow him to more efficiently find, track and characterize near-Earth objects.
The location of Amaral in the Southern Hemisphere is also a unique vantage point for finding such a large asteroid, as there are many professional astronomers in the Northern Hemisphere.
Casey Dreyer, Senior Space AdvisorPlanetary Society policy, also noted the importance of investing in new devices, such as the NASA Hazardous Objects Mission, or NEOSM, a space telescope designed to detect and track objects dangerous to the Earth.
See also:
- The Russian vaccine against COVID-19 entered civilian circulation, but there are many claims to it
- On day 3 of illness, most patients with COVID-19 lose their sense of smell and often suffer from a runny nose
- Scientists have found out why children are the most dangerous carriers of COVID-19