An asteroid that is expected to hit Earth in 2052 has so far been removed from the European Space Agency’s list of rocks to worry about.
ESA described the 2021 QM1 asteroid as “the riskiest asteroid known to mankind,” at least among the asteroids discovered last year. QM1 was detected in August 2021 by the Arizona-based Mount Lemmon Observatory, and additional observations only made its path seem more threatening.
“We were able to see its future paths around the Sun, and by 2052 it could be dangerously close to Earth. The more the asteroid was observed, the greater the risk,” said the planet’s chief of defense. ‘ESA, Richard Moissl.
QM1’s observations were interrupted when it was blocked by the Sun. When it finally emerged from behind our star in late May, QM1 was the weakest asteroid ever observed, although ESA scientists still managed to detect and track it. And so it looks like it won’t reach Earth in 2052 after all.
“With these new observations, the path of our risky asteroid was perfected, ruling out an impact in 2052, and in 2021 QM1 was removed from ESA’s risk list,” the agency said today. He noted that 1,377 asteroids remain on the sheet.
It is estimated to be between 37 and 82 meters wide (121 to 269 feet), the size of QM1 places it solidly in NASA’s “dangerous” category: “If a rocky meteoroid is more than 25 meters but less of a mile touched the Earth, is likely to cause local damage to the impact zone, ”the U.S. agency said. According to the Americans, rocks longer than a mile or two could have a global impact.
One of these largest asteroids was discovered in 2013 by the Russian space agency, and it is being observed how it could hit 2032. NASA said it is unlikely to hit us. If it does, the rock would hit with an equivalent of 2,500 megatons of explosives, many times larger than the largest nuclear device ever detonated, the 50 MT Soviet Tsar Bomb.
However, asteroids with the explosive force of sub-megaton nuclear bombs hit the Earth on average twice a year, concluded a study by the B612 Foundation, founded by NASA astronauts. Dr. Ed Lu, general manager of the foundation and former shuttle pilot, said less than 10,000 asteroids of more than a million have been identified with the potential to destroy a major metropolitan area.
Smaller space rocks are a risk, like the one that exploded about 30 kilometers or more above the ground over the Russian city of Chelyabinsk in 2013. The 20-meter-wide, 10,000-ton meteorite caused the windows they broke down and damaged the buildings. causing more than 1,100 injuries and increasing fears of asteroid attacks.
As for QM1, it’s off the list of threats just in time for this year’s Asteroid Day on June 30, though it may not stay that way. “We can safely say that the riskiest asteroid known to mankind in the last year will not affect, at least not for the next century,” ESA said. ®