2️⃣ days til #AsteroidDay!
The second most likely asteroid to strike Earth is 2018 VP1. A tiny little thing, it is estimated to be just 2.4 m in diameter and has a (relatively) high chance of striking Earth in November this year of 1 in 193
#SpaceCare💙
#PlanetaryDefence🌍
The second most likely asteroid to strike Earth is 2018 VP1. A tiny little thing, it is estimated to be just 2.4 m in diameter and has a (relatively) high chance of striking Earth in November this year of 1 in 193
#SpaceCare💙
#PlanetaryDefence🌍
Even though 2018 VP1 seems very small, meteorites still regularly reach Earth's surface - it all depends on the composition of the asteroid.
ESA & @mfnberlin are currently studying the physical processes as an asteroid enters Earth's atmosphere with velocities above 11 km/s
ESA & @mfnberlin are currently studying the physical processes as an asteroid enters Earth's atmosphere with velocities above 11 km/s
In 2018, a similarly small object - 2018 LA - entered Earth over Botswana and South Africa. This was only the third asteroid that was detected before it impacted Earth
📷Barend Swanepoel
📷Barend Swanepoel
Although it had been thoroughly observed at the time of discovery, it had become too faint for even the largest telescopes to keep track of, and the original observations were not enough to remove all possible impact risks
#PlanetaryDefence🌍☄️
#PlanetaryDefence🌍☄️
