Dangerous Near-Earth Asteroid 2024 MK: Passes on June 29

13:44 Coordinated Universal Time (UTC) – le 3.44 pm Italian time – Off 29 June 2024 Saturday A Large potentially dangerous asteroid Creates a particularly intimate passage Earth. about this 2024 MK, the “space rock” was discovered on June 16 this year by telescopes at the ATLAS Observatory in South Africa. The material has an estimated diameter 120 to 270 meters; This means that its maximum size is comparable Two St. Peter's Basilicas, one of the largest buildings in the world. An impact on Earth's surface would kill 6 million people, assuming a 100 meter asteroid would be capable of leveling New York City (in a second). Fortunately, though classified as “Potentially Dangerous”. NASAFor column at the end of June No risk of collision With our planet.

Second Calculations by the Center for Near-Earth Object Studies (CNEOS). From NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory, an asteroid named 2024 MK will make its closest approach to Earth. 0.00196 astronomical units (AU). Since one astronomical unit corresponds to approximately 150 million kilometers, the distance separating the Earth from the Sun, this means that the space rock will “graze” the Earth. 293,000 kilometers. It's a small matter from an elegant astronomical point of view. Enough said the moon It is at an average distance of 384,000 kilometers from Earth Perigee – i.e. the minimum distance – occurs between 356,000 and 370,000 kilometers. In practice, asteroid 2024 MK will pass around our planet in the smallest orbit possible for a natural satellite. As indicated, although very close, it does not pose a risk of collision.

A space rock of diameter is a dangerous asteroid At least 150 meters It approaches the Earth's orbit within 0.05 astronomical units, viz 7.5 million kilometers. With its size and approach of less than 300,000 kilometers, the 2024 MK has everything it needs to be added to this NASA list. In the event of an impact with Earth, the material would cause real catastrophe on a local or regional scale, but would not present the properties to trigger a mass extinction event. Just remember thatAsteroid chicxulubExtinction of the non-avian dinosaurs 66 million years ago, at the end of the Cretaceous, had dimensions of more than 10 kilometers.

The influences of these giants, in addition to stimulation Tsunami with waves hundreds of meters high It has the ability to travel at breakneck speed Global fireA scale like that should be raised to the sky Garbage from Cover the sun for years. This, in addition to the decline in temperature, would determine the decline of plants (unable to carry out photosynthesis) and then the decline of fauna; First the herbivores die, then the carnivores that eat them. Fortunately, the transit of 2024 MK on June 29, 2024 will be an excellent opportunity to study the celestial body in detail, which will be carefully monitored for future transits.