This Wednesday, an asteroid around one yard wide struck the Earth’s atmosphere over the Philippines and burned up, according to the European Space Agency. That asteroid may have been harmless, but do others pose a threat to us?
Asteroids do have a history of significantly impacting life on Earth.
“As soon as life could have formed on our planet, it did,” said NASA. “But if life formed so quickly on Earth and there was little in the way of water and carbon-based molecules on the Earth’s surface, then how were these building blocks of life delivered to the Earth’s surface so quickly? The answer may involve the collision of comets and asteroids with the Earth, since these objects contain abundant supplies of both water and carbon-based molecules.”
Not only are asteroids linked to the beginnings of life on Earth overall, one is also linked to destruction that brought forth conditions for humans to eventually thrive on the planet. That 6-mile wide asteroid, the Chicxulub asteroid, landed near what we know today as Mexico’s Yucatan Peninsula 65 million years ago and caused the destruction of about 75% of the life on our planet, including dinosaurs.
“Asteroids are rocky fragments left over from the formation of the solar system about 4.6 billion years ago. Most asteroids orbit the sun in a belt between Mars and Jupiter,” NASA explained. “Scientists think there are probably millions of asteroids, ranging widely in size from hundreds of kilometers across to less than one kilometer (a little more than one-half mile) wide.”
Per a Thursday report from the Daily Mail, there are six “catastrophic asteroids on course to crash into Earth,” right now. Most of those asteroids were also included in LiveScience’s “NASA’s most wanted: The 5 most dangerous asteroids to Earth” list published this June.
Don’t get too worried, though. According to NASA, “there is currently no known significant threat of impact for the next hundred years or more,” from the close to 1.4 million asteroids and other space objects in out solar system.
Here’s the top 6 list of “risky” asteroids:
Bennu
At less than a half a mile wide, this is considered a “small” asteroid by NASA. It passes close to Earth around once every six years and it was discovered in 1999. It is billions of years old and NASA gathered a sample of it in 2023. Michael Puzio, age 9, won a naming competition for it in 2013, when he suggested the ancient Egyptian deity’s name. Bennu is at the top of the ESA’s “Special Risk List” and it has a listed expected impact date of Sept. 9, 2182.
“Being only one-twentieth of the size of the Earth-striking asteroid that killed the dinosaurs, Bennu would not destroy the Earth or even the life on it,” said BBC Science Magazine. “However, the asteroid would leave a crater four miles (6.4 km) wide and knock down nearby cities.”
Valentine’s Day asteroid
This is also known as 2023 DW. According to NASA it is expected to approach close to Earth on Feb. 14, 2046. However, Northrup Grumman noted that it is expected to stay even further from Earth than the moon when it passes by.
“Still, the announcement of this close call sparked some concern about a potential collision. Given that the asteroid is 49.13 meters in diameter and currently moving at 21.78 km/s relative to the sun, this worry isn't entirely misplaced: If 2023 DW comes into contact with Earth, it could level a small city,” said the company.
1950 DA
Measuring 0.81 miles, this asteroid was first discovered in 1950 before it faded from view. It then was re-discovered in 2000.
“When high-precision radar measurements were included in a new orbit solution, a potentially very close approach to the Earth on March 16, 2880 was discovered to exist,” according to NASA. Impact probability for the asteroid was updated to one in 30,000 as of 2022.
2023 TL4
At around .20 miles, this asteroid is expected to close approach Earth on April 6, 2054. Still, it is expected to be around 2 million miles from Earth even then.
“From observations collected between Oct. 8 and Oct. 19, 2023, astronomers calculated that 2023 TL4 has a 0.00055% – or one in 181,000 – chance of striking Earth on Oct. 10, 2119. Should such an impact occur, 2023 TL4 would release the energy equivalent to the detonation of 7.5 billion tons of TNT,” said LiveScience.
2007 FT3
Like 2023 TL4, this asteroid is around .20 miles, and like 1950 DA, it tends to go into hiding. Unlike 1950 DA, 2007 FTE is currently considered a “lost” asteroid, according to LiveScience. It hasn’t been spotted since 2007.
“NASA predicts that the asteroid has a 0.0000096% – or 1 in 10 million – chance of striking our planet on March 3, 2030. The asteroid has a slightly lower probability of 0.0000087% – or 1 in 11.5 million – chance of striking Earth on Oct. 5, 2024,” said LiveScience. Even if it did, the impact is expected to cause regional damage rather than a global catastrophe.
1979 XB
Another asteroid that eludes humans, 1979 XB hasn’t been seen in around 40 years, according to LiveScience. It is around .41 miles and it has a one in 1.8 million chance of striking Earth on Dec. 14, 2113.
“Such a collision would release the same energy as the detonation of 30 billion tons of TNT,” LiveScience said.
Both the ESA and NASA keep a close eye on objects in our galaxy. As of this Thursday, the ESA was tracing 1,636 objects on it’s “risk list” and NASA offered information about asteroids in particular via its “Eyes on Asteroids” map. NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory also keeps an “Asteroid Watch” list of the five upcoming asteroid approaches at any given time.