An asteroid close to the Earth

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AFP

Tuesday, 10 October 2017 22:47

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Tuesday, 10 October 2017 22:47

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Paris | An asteroid the size of a large house will Thursday, close to the Earth, without posing danger to it. But this episode will be the occasion of an exercise around this type of celestial object potentially threatening to the planet.

“This time, this is not a case of concern, but we’ll take our time to train us,” says Detlef Koschny, co-director of the segment Objects neos (Near-Earth Objects) of the european space Agency (ESA).

“This is the day where will an object really dangerous, we will have repeated several times before “, he adds.

No danger

The exercise is coordinated by the University of Maryland (United States), with the participation of Nasa, ESA, and various observatories.

The asteroid 2012 TC4, which measures between 15 and 30 meters will Thursday between the Earth and the Moon.

“It is a very small object, about the size of a large house,” says Detlef Koschny.

It will be at least 44 000 kilometres from our planet, but there was “no danger, including the satellites,” says astronomer Michael Kelley of the division’s Study of the planets at Nasa.

The asteroid will be just a little beyond the area where they intersect the geostationary satellites. The more distant are located at 36 000 km from the Earth.

“In and of itself, there is nothing very particular about the passage of this asteroid. This happens quite frequently, ” acknowledges Michael Kelley.

“What makes an event special is that we have decided to use this object for an exercise on planetary defense “against asteroids,” he adds.

Bright dot

Different observatories throughout the world will turn their telescopes on the asteroid as it gets closer little by little from the Earth. It will appear as a small bright dot.

Its speed relative to the Earth will then be of 7.3 km per second.

At the time of the passage of the asteroid, the observatories will send their information to centres managing emergency situations.

“We will see if the data that we send to them are well understood, if they are clear or whether there is a need to improve things,” explains Mr. Koschny.