Two large asteroids will pass near Earth this week

Austin Tang — Wed, 26 Jun 2024 14:57:49 +0000

Earth.com staff writer

Two large asteroids are set to safely pass by Earth this week, arriving just before Asteroid Day on June 30, according to a new report from the European Space Agency (ESA).

Although neither poses any danger to our planet, one of the asteroids was discovered only a week ago, underscoring the importance of enhancing our ability to detect potentially hazardous objects in the vicinity of our planet.

Asteroid 2024 MK

Asteroid 2024 MK, measuring between 120 and 260 meters, was discovered on June 16, 2024. It will pass by Earth on Saturday, June 29.

This sizable near-Earth object (NEO) will come within 290,000 kilometers of Earth – approximately 75% of the distance to the moon.

Despite no risk of impact, the proximity of 2024 MK emphasizes the need for improved detection techniques.

“There is no risk of 2024 MK impacting Earth. However, an asteroid this size would cause considerable damage if it did, so its discovery just one week before it flies past our planet highlights the ongoing need to improve our ability to detect and monitor potentially hazardous near-Earth objects,” noted ESA.

Amateur astronomers can observe 2024 MK with a small telescope or good binoculars in clear, dark skies on June 29, using ESA’s NEO toolkit for guidance.

Asteroid 2011 UL21

Asteroid (415029) 2011 UL21, is 2,310 meters in diameter, which makes it larger than 99 percent of near-Earth asteroids.

However, 2011 UL21 will not come as close to Earth, passing at over 17 times the distance to the moon on Thursday, June 27.

This asteroid’s steeply inclined orbit around the sun is unusual for such a large object, possibly due to gravitational interactions with a planet like Jupiter. Understanding these interactions is crucial, as Jupiter can deflect asteroids towards Earth.

“2011 UL21 is in an ’11:34 resonance’ with Earth. It completes 11 revolutions about the sun in almost the exact same amount of time in which Earth completes 34 revolutions (i.e. 34 years),” explained ESA.

“The result is a pleasant repeating pattern when you visualize the asteroid’s location relative to Earth over a period of 34 years while keeping Earth fixed in place.”

Asteroid Day 2024

Asteroid Day commemorates the largest observed asteroid strike in recorded history – the 1908 Tunguska event in Siberia. This UN-endorsed day highlights the need for planetary defense.

ESA, with the cooperation of its member states, is uniquely positioned to coordinate data, information, and expertise to understand and respond to asteroid hazards, contributing to global planetary defense efforts.

ESA’s Planetary Defense Office is undertaking several projects to enhance the detection, tracking, and mitigation of hazardous asteroids.

Hera mission

The Hera mission, launching later this year, will perform a detailed survey of asteroid Dimorphos following NASA’s DART mission’s impact in September 2022, contributing to developing a repeatable planetary defense technique. The Hera team will participate in Asteroid Day celebrations.

Flyeye telescopes

ESA is also developing a network of Flyeye telescopes with a wide field of view to scan the sky nightly for new hazardous asteroids.

The future NEOMIR satellite, positioned between Earth and the sun, will use infrared light to detect asteroids obscured by the sun’s glare.

Planetary Defense Office

Meanwhile, ESA’s Planetary Defense Office continues to monitor the skies. ESA’s fireball camera in Cáceres, Spain, captured a meteor on the night of May 18-19, 2024.

Catalina Sky Survey

Additionally, the Catalina Sky Survey in Arizona discovered a small asteroid on June 6, 2024, triggering an alert from ESA’s imminent impact monitoring system.

The asteroid flew over the Catalina Sky Survey telescope at just 1,750 km, making it the second closest pass of a known, non-impacting asteroid ever.

More about near-Earth asteroids

Near-Earth asteroids (NEAs) are a category of asteroids with orbits that bring them close to Earth’s orbit. They are classified based on their orbits into three main groups: Atira, Amor, and Apollo asteroids. NEAs can vary significantly in size, from just a few meters to several kilometers in diameter.

They are remnants from the early solar system, providing clues about its formation and evolution. Due to their proximity to Earth, NEAs are of particular interest for scientific research, resource exploration, and planetary defense.

Understanding their composition and trajectories helps in developing potential strategies to mitigate any future impact threats. Advances in technology have allowed for missions to visit and study these asteroids up close, such as NASA’s OSIRIS-REx mission to Bennu and JAXA’s Hayabusa2 mission to Ryugu.

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The post Two large asteroids will pass near Earth this week appeared first on Good News!.

Chrissy Chen, During Summer Months…

Austin Tang — Thu, 30 Jul 2020 15:24:19 +0000

http://goodnewsplanet.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/07/chrissy_chen_1.mp3
HOW TO MAKE UP FOR EDUCATIONAL & SOCIAL LOSSES
STUDENTS ENCOUNTERED DURING COVID-19

Lessons from Boys & Girls Clubs of America
Help Keep Kids and Teens Engaged in Learning as Social Distancing Continues

Learning loss is a real issue every summer, but in the unprecedented era of COVID-19, many students already began the summer at an educational disadvantage. As schools closed their doors weeks ahead of time, students completed the school year at home, relying on virtual classrooms and take-home work.

The digital divide made it a lot harder for some children to complete school work, especially those from low-income and minority households, who may not have reliable internet access. In homes where parents did not have the choice of tele-work, older children may have needed to care for their younger siblings so parents could work, making it even harder to do school work under already challenging circumstances.

Now there’s concern over how to keep kids engaged in learning this summer. Research finds children typically fall behind academically each summer, losing about two months’ worth of math skills during the summer. Low-income youth lose more than two months’ worth of reading skills, while their middle-class peers make slight gains.[1] Unchecked, summer learning losses can cause disadvantaged kids to fall behind and possibly jeopardize their chances of graduating from high school.

Public schools and some afterschool programs like Boys & Girls Clubs may remain closed this summer to prevent the spread of the virus, and that means students have lost an important lifeline – a place to connect with friends and teachers, work on their social and emotional skills (which help kids achieve success in areas like academics, arts, leadership and service) and access a typical learning experience. In this segment, parents can take some valuable cues and gain advice to help their kids from a youth development expert from Boys & Girls Clubs of America.

July 6 -11 has been designated as national Summer Learning Week, the perfect time to hear from Chrissy Chen, the Senior Director of Youth Development Programs at Boys & Girls Clubs of America. She’ll discuss how parents can learn some important tips to keep kids and teens learning during summer, especially due to the changes that happened during this recent school year due to COVID-19. She’ll also explain what the important tools are to make sure young people don’t experience summer learning loss while also building their social and emotional skills so they can prepare for the new school year — and life beyond the pandemic.

www.bgca.org
www.myfuture.net

Interview is courtesy: Boys & Girls Clubs of America

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