5 asteroids that can crash into Earth: Names and probability of collision
What 5 asteroids could hit the Earth (Illustrative photo: Getty Images)
Large asteroids are considered a potential threat to the Earth. That's why scientists closely monitor them and record every change in their motion or other parameters. Currently, 5 such asteroids could be dangerous for our planet.
Daily Mail tells which 5 asteroids can crash into the Earth when it will happen, and what is the current threat level.
Asteroid 2023 DW
According to astronomers, the 50-meter asteroid is dangerous. In recent years, the threat assessment has changed twice - from 1 in 600 to 1 in 1584. That is, the collision of this asteroid with the Earth is unlikely now, but the risk remains because the space body continues to move and changes may occur more than once.
This asteroid has a lot of time - according to scientists, it is expected to hit the Earth only on February 14, 2046. It is too small to destroy our planet, but it can cause trouble.
According to astronomers, asteroids hit the Earth on average once every 2000 years. An asteroid of about 100 meters in size can cause a localized catastrophe at the impact site. If the space body is larger, the consequences can be much worse.
But the good news is that most asteroids can completely burn up in the atmosphere, and only fragments will reach the Earth and cause minimal damage.
Asteroid Bennu
This asteroid is already known and has already been visited by the Osiris-Rex spacecraft, which collected rock samples from the surface. So far, these samples are still on their way, so scientists have not yet studied them.
The size of this asteroid is over 520 meters. The chances of its falling are 1 in 2700. The probable date of its collision with the Earth is September 24, 2182.
The asteroid Bennu has existed for more than 4.5 billion years and has been observed for a very long time. Scientists believe that if it does reach the Earth, the impact will release 3 times more energy than during the explosions of all atomic bombs that occurred in the 20th century.
Asteroid 2010 RF12
A potentially dangerous asteroid, because according to scientists, the probability of its impact on the Earth is 1 in 10. Now this asteroid has the greatest chance of colliding with the Earth, but it is not at all certain that we will have time to see it.
This rock is a little over 60 meters long and has every chance of exploding in the atmosphere before colliding with the Earth. The debris can reach land or water. And all of this could happen on September 5, 2095.
Asteroid 1950 DA
This stone is about 800 meters wide, but the chances of its collision with the Earth are not very high - 1 in 34,000. It is considered to be very dangerous, although more than 800 years will pass before the date of its possible impact on our planet.
In 2032, this stone will fly past the Earth at a distance of 11 million kilometers, and scientists will be able to conduct more thorough observations of it and update the data. NASA noted that if the data indicate that this asteroid is very dangerous for the Earth, measures will be taken to change its orbit.
And now, according to scientists, this asteroid has every chance of colliding with the Earth on March 16, 2880.
The asteroid Toutatis
The width of this asteroid is very large - about 5 km. But it is half the size of the one that wiped out the dinosaurs 66 million years ago. Theoretically, this rock could fall to Earth, but scientists are still observing it.
In 2004, it flew by the Earth and since then it has been closely watched because, according to NASA scientists, if it comes close to the Earth in 2562, it could theoretically fall. But so far, astronomers have not made any predictions about the chances.
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