Ginormous skyscraper-sized asteroid to visit Earth, check speed, distance details insideA monster asteroid is scheduled for a close encounter with the Earth on 30 April, 2024.
Illustration of a near Earth asteroid.
2022 TN1 is in an orbit that is not aligned to the plane along which the planets orbit the Sun.
An asteroid comparable to 2022 TN1 actually strikes the Earth about once every 166,000 years, causing widespread devastation.
How to stop an asteroid impact?
Ginormous skyscraper-sized asteroid to visit Earth, check speed, distance details inside
A monster asteroid is scheduled for a close encounter with the Earth on 30 April, 2024. There is no threat of impact, and no cause for the general public to be alarmed. There are no major impacts expected for the Earth over the next few centuries.
Illustration of a near Earth asteroid. (Image Credit: Bing Image Creator).
New Delhi: An asteroid with the designation of 2022 TN1 will approach within 71,30,422 kilometres of the Earth, or less than 19 times the distance between the Earth and the Moon, on 30 April, 2024. The asteroid measures between 230 and 520 metres across. It is not unusual for asteroids to have large uncertainties in their sizes, because of how challenging it is to observe them. The asteroid will hurtle past the Earth at 17.73 kilometres per second. This time around, the asteroid will hurtle past the Earth safely, with no risk of an impact.
Most asteroids in the Solar System occupy the main belt between Mars and Jupiter. However, there are populations of asteroids distributed throughout the Solar System, some in the same neighbourhood as Earth. 2022 TN1 is in an orbit that is not aligned to the plane along which the planets orbit the Sun. It has an orbit larger than that of the Earth’s, but one that approaches Earth. The asteroid is a frequent visitor the Earth.
What would happen if 2022 TN1 struck the planet?
An asteroid comparable to 2022 TN1 actually strikes the Earth about once every 166,000 years, causing widespread devastation. The strike would result in an impact crater measuring 580 metres deep and 9.7 kilometres across. About 690,000 people would be vapourised by the impact crater, the formation of which would release as much energy as 12 Gigatons of TNT.
The impact would also result in the formation of a fireball 15 kilometres across, resulting in the death of around 13.5 million people, with another nine million receiving severe burns if the asteroid were to strike the Earth over a major city such as Delhi. All trees within a radius of 130 kilometres would instantly catch fire.
The most devastating aspect of the impact would be the 241 decibel shockwave, that would wipe out 10 million people, causing the collapse of all buildings within a radius of 100 kilometres. The impact would also cause an 7.2 magnitude Earthquake that would be felt from a distance of 240 kilometres.
How to stop an asteroid impact?
So far, humans have demonstrated only a single method for deflecting an asteroid, which is through the use of a kinetic impactor, or ramming a spacecraft into the side of a threatening asteroid. The sooner we identify a potential impactor, the less time is necessary to push the asteroid on a safer trajectory. NASA is developing a number of innovative technologies for deflecting asteroids, including gravity tractors, ion-beam shepherds and nuclear explosives.
