Asteroid 2023 BU passed close to Earth: What to know

Our solar system is full of space rocks.

Fortunately, NASA and other agencies keep a close track of asteroids that pass through Earth’s space neighborhood, discovering hundreds more each year, but there’s more than enough to threaten our planet in the next 100 years or so. No possible asteroids have been discovered.

On January 26th, a small asteroid (“about the size of a box truck” according to NASA) passed just 2,200 miles from Earth. Dubbed 2023 BU because it is so small, the rock was first spotted by an amateur astronomer on January 21 when it moved nearby. It was never a threat.Even if it hits Earth, “most will disintegrate harmlessly in the atmosphere,” NASA explained.(opens in new window).

Here’s what you need to know about Asteroid 2023 BU, and other near-Earth asteroids.

1. NASA did not warn about Asteroid 2023 BU

NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory, which operates NASA’s Near Earth Object Research Center(opens in new window)tracks passing asteroids relatively close Because space is vast, many of these rocks pass millions of miles away before reaching Earth. Technically, a Near Earth Object (NEO) is an object that passes within about 30 million miles.(opens in new window) of our planet’s orbit around the sun.

Therefore, 2023 BU can be easily determined to be a near-Earth object. However, NASA and other US agencies did not issue any warnings because it could not hit Earth and was too small to be dangerous. You may have read sensational headlines claiming that “NASA Warns Asteroid Approaching Earth” But it’s just wrong. A warning is a serious escalation and represents a threat.

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“We’ve never really issued a warning,” Lindley Johnson, NASA’s planetary defense officer, told Mashable in 2021. There’s a 1% chance that rocks over 30 feet wide will hit Earth. If found to be more than that, NASA will issue an official warning, alerting the White House and other government leaders, then assessing the situation and informing the public of a possible strike.

In this case, NASA released some simple information(opens in new window) 2023 BE and how to detect it. Sure, it’s an interesting little event. “In fact, this is one of the closest encounters by a known near-Earth object ever recorded,” NASA engineer David Farnocchia said in a statement.

2. Asteroids are often not a threat to Earth

In general, the bigger the asteroid, the greater the threat it poses to Earth.

The rock that likely wiped out the dinosaurs is in the largest class of asteroids, measuring over 0.6 miles wide.Dinosaur Rock Was a Giant Beast About 6 Miles Wide(opens in new window)But these are very rare visitors. As Mashable reported last year:

• no known asteroids Rocks larger than 460 feet in diameter will threaten Earth in the next century or so (a rock about 460 feet in diameter is an asteroid large enough to cause considerable devastation).

• A collision with an object approximately 460 feet in diameter occurs every 10,000 to 20,000 years.

• A “dinosaur-killing” impact from rocks, perhaps half a mile or more, will occur on a timescale of 100 million years.

Importantly, asteroids smaller than 460 feet can still pose a significant threat. Even an asteroid about 100 to 170 feet across could destroy a place like Kansas City.(opens in new window) A home for 500,000 people. Therefore, investigation of large and small rocks is essential.

3. Astronomers Watching Potentially Dangerous Asteroids

A large specialized telescope is dedicated to finding new asteroids close to Earth. This involves taxpayer money. NASA has been mandated by Congress to find 90% of all rocks in the universe at widths of 460 feet or more.

• Pan Stars: Maui’s Panoramic Survey Telescope and Rapid Response System consists of two telescopes that look up at the sky looking for unusual motion. With its keen eyesight, Pan-STARRS has discovered 253 of the 456 near-Earth asteroids over 460 feet wide discovered in 2021.(opens in new window)has been the leader in these detections for the past decade.

• Catalina Sky Survey: The survey’s three telescopes are located in the Santa Catalina Mountains of Arizona. Pan-STARRS tends to find more NEOs over 460 feet (or 140 meters) wide, while Catalina tends to find a bit more NEOs overall.(opens in new window)This is good because objects below 140 meters can still be devastating.

• Atlas: The Asteroid Earth Impact Last Alert System works like a giant floodlight that gives you a close up view around the Earth. From Hawaii, Chile, and South Africa, he consists of three telescopes that can scan the entire sky each night. They can spot objects about 65 feet in diameter within a few days.

So far, astronomers have found about 40% of rocks larger than 460 feet in diameter, with hundreds more being discovered each year. Meanwhile, they identified an estimated 95% of the largest “planet killer” asteroids.

Importantly, some small asteroids inevitably slip through the cracks of investigation. That’s why other astronomical detectives are so valuable. Amateur astronomer Gennady Borisov discovered his 2023 BU, informed other astronomers, and reported to an international organization that tracks such objects called the Minor Planet Center.(opens in new window)A few days later, NASA’s Near-Earth Object Research Center confirmed the asteroid and its orbit.

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So if you hear that an asteroid is “heading toward Earth,” remember that it’s likely not a threat (asteroids regularly come within a few million miles of Earth). Like NASA, it gives you coherent information about where you’re going (perhaps the vast ocean) and what you need to do (usually nothing).

enjoy the sky Yes, let’s pay a healthy homage to the large space rocks that orbit the Sun. But if you see warnings about an approaching asteroid on the Internet, be very skeptical.