Two large asteroids pass close to Earth within a short interval

June 26 () –

This week, two large asteroids will pass close to Earth. None of them represent a risk to our planet, but One of them was discovered just a week ago.

According to NASAhighlights the need to continue improving our ability to detect potentially dangerous objects in our cosmic neighborhood.

2024 MK: LESS THAN TWO WEEKS BETWEEN ITS DISCOVERY AND ITS PASSAGE

The asteroid 2024 MK has a size between 120 and 260 meters and was discovered on June 16, 2024. The asteroid will pass close to Earth on June 29. 2024 MK is large for a near-Earth object (NEO) and It will pass 290,000 km from the Earth’s surfaceapproximately 75% of the distance between the Earth and the Moon.

There is no risk of 2024 MK hitting Earth. However, an asteroid of this size would cause considerable damage if it did, so its discovery just a week before it is set to pass close to our planet highlights the ongoing need to improve our ability to detect and monitor potentially hazardous near-Earth objects (NEOs).

Due to its size and proximity, 2024 MK will be observable in dark, clear skies on June 29 using a small telescope or good binoculars for amateur astronomers in some parts of the world.

(415029) 2011 UL21: BIGGER THAN 99% OF NEAR-EARTH ASTEROIDS

Asteroid (415029) 2011 UL21 is the largest visitor of the week. At 2,310 meters in diameter, this asteroid is larger than 99% of all known near-Earth objects (NEOs). However, it won’t get that close to Earth. At its closest point, this June 27will continue to be more than 17 times the distance that separates us from the Moon.

This asteroid’s orbit around the Sun is highly inclined, which is unusual for such a large object. Most large objects in the Solar System, including planets and asteroids, They orbit the Sun in or near the equatorial plane.

This could be the result of gravitational interactions with a large planet like Jupiter. Jupiter can deflect previously safe asteroids toward Earth, so it’s important to understand this process.

(415029) 2011 UL21 is in an “11:34 resonance” with Earth. It completes 11 revolutions around the Sun in almost the same amount of time as the Earth completes 34 revolutions (i.e. 34 years).

The result is a “nice” repeating pattern when viewing the asteroid’s location relative to Earth over a 34-year period. while the Earth remains fixed in place.