Russian astronauts observed on the night of September 30 to October 1 a giant asteroid heading towards Earth. It was detected by two observatories in southern Russia. They took the images and made a publication on October 2 on the Telegram channel of the Institute of Applied Mathematics Keldych of the Russian Academy of Sciences. The asteroid was observed using the telescope which is located in the village of Kochevantchik and that of Kuban State University in southern Russia.
It measures half a kilometer in diameter and revolves around the Sun in an elongated orbit with a period of 3.44 years approaching Earth according to Russian scientists. They nevertheless reassure that the celestial body does not present any danger for the planet “in the foreseeable future“. This discovery comes after an experiment carried out 6 days ago by NASA which struck an asteroid in order to deflect it. NASA scientists announced that it was necessary to wait between a few days to a few weeks to confirm that the trajectory of the asteroid has indeed been altered.
The experiment, which is a first for humanity, was carried out as part of the Dart mission. NASA therefore had to destroy one of its ships by propelling it against an asteroid, in order to deviate its trajectory and protect itself from a potential future threat. “We are embarked on a new era, where we potentially have the ability to protect ourselves from a dangerous asteroid impact“, had declared Lori Glaze, director of planetary sciences at NASA. For the moment, no similarity is made between the two asteroids.