green

Phew! Truck-sized asteroid misses Earth

An asteroid has hurtled past Earth just 3600km above our heads in one of the closest approaches ever recorded

AFP
3 min read
February 1, 2023 - 7:00PM
Kids News
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Asteroid 2023 BU came within 3600km of Earth’s surface, but unlike this NASA image of a large asteroid, 2023 BU would have been too small to cause much damage if it had collided with our planet. Picture: iStock
Asteroid 2023 BU came within 3600km of Earth’s surface, but unlike this NASA image of a large asteroid, 2023 BU would have been too small to cause much damage if it had collided with our planet. Picture: iStock
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READING LEVEL: GREEN

A truck-sized asteroid that suddenly loomed* out of the darkness – with Earth in its sights – has sailed harmlessly past us.

Despite what we’ve seen in movies like Armageddon, no global mission to blow it up or knock it off course with nuclear weapons was required.

Instead, Asteroid 2023 BU whizzed past without incident and back out into the blackness of space on January 27. Phew!

This diagram shows Asteroid 2023 BU’s path in red during its close approach with Earth. The green line shows the path of satellites. Picture: NASA/JPL-Caltech
This diagram shows Asteroid 2023 BU’s path in red during its close approach with Earth. The green line shows the path of satellites. Picture: NASA/JPL-Caltech

The rock, which was spotted for the first time five days earlier by an amateur* stargazer in Crimea, came closest to the southern tip of South America, according to scientists who were tracking it.

At its nearest point, the asteroid was just 3600km from Earth’s surface, just a quarter of the height of many of the satellites in space that make our telephones and car navigation systems work.

A scene from the 1988 movie Armageddon in which a team of astronauts is sent into space to destroy a giant asteroid with a nuclear bomb to stop it from crashing into Earth.
A scene from the 1988 movie Armageddon in which a team of astronauts is sent into space to destroy a giant asteroid with a nuclear bomb to stop it from crashing into Earth.

Amateur astronomer Gennadiy Borisov raised the alarm about the impending* asteroid close call. Scientists around the world then raced to calculate where it was headed and whether we needed to start making last-minute evacuation plans.

But experts using NASA’s impact hazard assessment system, known as Scout, quickly determined the alien visitor was coming in peace.

“Scout quickly ruled out 2023 BU as an impactor*, but despite the very few observations, it was nonetheless able to predict that the asteroid would make an extraordinarily close approach with Earth,” said NASA’s Davide Farnocchia, who helped develop Scout.

“In fact, this is one of the closest approaches by a known near-Earth object ever recorded.”

This view from NASA’s Scout system shows the deflection of asteroid 2023 BU’s trajectory – in red – caused by Earth’s gravity. The orbit of satellites is shown in green and the orbit of the moon is shown in grey. Picture: NASA/JPL-Caltech
This view from NASA’s Scout system shows the deflection of asteroid 2023 BU’s trajectory – in red – caused by Earth’s gravity. The orbit of satellites is shown in green and the orbit of the moon is shown in grey. Picture: NASA/JPL-Caltech

If the math had been off, however, humanity would still probably have been all right, scientists said.

At between just 3.5m to 8.5m across, Asteroid 2023 BU was a bit small to cause too much damage, and would have largely burned up as it hurtled through the atmosphere. The few meteorites that did make it to the ground would have been small.

NASA said the close call would have left a more lasting impact on the asteroid itself. Earth’s gravity would have affected the object’s orbit, lengthening the amount of time it takes for Asteroid 2023 BU to go around the sun from 359 days to 425 days.

GLOSSARY

  • loomed: appeared as a large, often frightening or unclear shape or object
  • amateur: a person who does a particular activity as a hobby rather than as their job
  • impending: happening soon or likely to happen soon
  • impactor: something that will hit

EXTRA READING

Did NASA just ‘save the Earth’?

NASA spacecraft successfully slams into asteroid

NASA charts course of risky asteroid

Earth safe from asteroid hit

QUICK QUIZ

  1. What is the name of the asteroid that passed close to Earth?
  2. At its nearest point, how close did the asteroid come to Earth?
  3. Which continent did it come closest to?
  4. Who is Gennadiy Borisov?
  5. What is the name of NASA’s impact hazard assessment system?

LISTEN TO THIS STORY

CLASSROOM ACTIVITIES
1. Name it!
Can you think of a more interesting name for Asteroid 2023 BU? Your name should reflect what you think is most interesting or important about this event.

Time: allow 15 minutes to complete this activity
Curriculum Links: English, Science

2. Extension
What do you think would have happened if the Asteroid 2023 BU had hit the earth, in your town or suburb? Use the information in the story and your imagination to write a Kids News story about it. Look carefully at the story to make sure that you follow the structure and features of a news story.

Time: allow 30 minutes to complete this activity
Curriculum Links: English, Science

VCOP ACTIVITY
An asteroid is coming
It’s all clear skies now, but when the asteroid was first spotted what do you think the general feeling would have been?

Write a paragraph to NASA from the stargazer who spotted the asteroid. What do you think they would have said and what do you think the tone of the letter would have been?

Remember to re-read to make sure your paragraph is clear and makes sense. Use your VCOP skills to engage with the audience and make your feelings clear.

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