The asteroid, named 2022 RM4, is expected to come as close as 0.01536 AU, or about 1.4 million miles, to Earth at 18:26 GMT on Tuesday. It is estimated to be up to 2,427 feet (740 meters) in diameter, which is almost as large as the tallest building on Earth, the Burj Khalifa in Dubai (2,722 feet). As 2022 RM4 flies past Earth, it will travel at 23.4 km per second, or almost 52,500 miles per hour – about 65 times the speed of sound. 2022 RM4 is “potentially hazardous” because it is 4.65 million miles from Earth, although it is not expected to pose a threat to our planet. The asteroid, called 2022 RM4, is estimated to be up to 740 meters in diameter, which is almost as large as the tallest building on Earth, the Burj Khalifa in Dubai (2,722 feet). As 2022 RM4 flies past Earth, it will travel at 23.4 km per second, or almost 52,500 miles per hour – about 65 times the speed of sound (artist’s impression)

DIFFERENT TYPES OF SPACE ROCKS

An asteroid is a large piece of rock left over from collisions or the early solar system. Most are between Mars and Jupiter in the Main Zone. A comet is a rock covered in ice, methane and other compounds. Their orbits take them far outside the Solar System. A meteor is what astronomers call a flash of light in the atmosphere when debris burns up. This debris itself is known as a meteoroid. Most are so small that they evaporate into the atmosphere. If one of these meteoroids reaches Earth, it is called a meteorite. Meteorites, meteorites, and meteoroids typically come from asteroids and comets. Despite being about six times farther than the moon, the asteroid is classified as a near-Earth object (NEO) and is being tracked by the space agency. “NEOs are comets and asteroids that have been propelled by the gravitational pull of nearby planets into orbits that allow them to enter Earth’s neighborhood,” NASA said. “Consisting mostly of water ice with embedded dust particles, comets first formed in the cold outer planetary system, while most of the rocky asteroids formed in the warmer inner solar system between the orbits of Mars and Jupiter. “Scientific interest in comets and asteroids is largely due to their status as relatively unchanged remnants from the process of formation of the solar system some 4.6 billion years ago.” Although the 2022 RM4 will be 1.4 million miles away, that’s relatively close in astronomical terms. Tony Dunn, an astronomer at San Francisco State University (SFSU), said: “2022 RM4 will pass less than six lunar distances on Tuesday. “It’s too close for an asteroid of this size.”
Dunn said 2022 RM4 is larger than the asteroid that created Meteor Crater in Arizona, about 50,000 years ago. It’s also a giant compared to 2015 FF, which is up to 92 feet in diameter (about the size of a blue whale) and flew past Earth in August. However, 2022 RM4 is small compared to the 3,280-foot-wide ‘7482 (1994 PC1)’, an asteroid that came very close to Earth in January.

WHAT ARE NEAR-EARTH ASTEROIDS?

Near-Earth asteroids are rocky bodies that orbit the Sun on a path that brings them close to Earth’s orbit. An asteroid is called a near-Earth asteroid (NEA) when its orbit brings it within 1.3 astronomical units (AU) of the Sun. A single astronomical unit is the distance between the Sun and the Earth. Almost all NEOs are near-Earth asteroids (NEAs), although there are also near-Earth comets (NECs). The European Space Agency has announced that more than 30,000 NEAs have now been discovered in the Solar System. On October 31, the number stands at 30,400. ESA claims that 1,425 of these NEAs have a “non-zero chance of impact” with our planet and are therefore under the “watchful eye” of a network of telescopes. Of the total, there are estimated to be about 10,000 larger than 460 feet (140 meters) in diameter and 1,000 larger than 3,280 feet (1 km) in diameter – underscoring the need to monitor these space rocks. The first NEA ever discovered, called 433 Eros, has an average diameter of 10.4 miles (16.8 kilometers). It was first observed by the German astronomer Carl Gustav Witt at the Berlin Observatory on August 13, 1898. Known for its strange, elongated shape and rocky composition, 433 Eros’ orbit brings it within about 13.5 million miles of Earth – 57 times the distance to the moon.
Known for its strange elongated shape and stony composition, 433 Eros’ orbit brings it within about 13.5 million miles of Earth – 57 times the distance of the moon It is estimated that there are approximately 10,000 NEAs greater than 460 feet (140 meters) in diameter. And there are also about 1,000 NEOs larger than 3,280 feet (1km) in diameter, underscoring the need to track these space rocks. The largest NEA, called 1036 Ganymed—not to be confused with Jupiter’s similarly named moon—is about 22 miles (35 kilometers) in diameter. “Fortunately, this giant body is known to always stay at a safe distance from Earth,” said Richard Moissl, head of ESA’s planetary defense division. The largest known asteroid in the entire Solar System, Ceres, is 580 miles (over 3 million feet) in diameter – big enough for humans to live on.
On average, Earth is hit by a football-field-sized rock every 5,000 years and a civilization-ending asteroid every million years, according to NASA’s Near-Earth Object Program. In an effort to deal with the threat of asteroids that may one day get a little too close for comfort, NASA has formed a planetary defense program, which includes the Double Asteroid Redirection Test (DART) mission. DART launched from California last November – and finally completed its 10-month journey when it hit the asteroid Dimorphos on September 26. On September 26, DART crashed into Dimorphos, which orbits a larger asteroid called Gemini. Dimorphos is depicted here in scale with the Colosseum in Rome Dimorphos, about 560 feet in diameter, orbits a larger asteroid called Gemini, both about 6.8 million miles from our planet. DART hit the space rock at more than 14,000 miles per hour and was destroyed on impact, while Dimorphos received a “little push” to change its trajectory by a fraction. NASA announced earlier this month that the mission was a success, as the craft managed to shorten Dimorphos’ orbit by 32 minutes. Neither Dimorphus nor Gemini are a danger to Earth. Instead, the $325 million (£298 million) mission was a rehearsal for what might be required if a space rock were to one day threaten our planet.

NASA’S ARROW MISSION IS CONSIDERED A WONDERFUL SUCCESS: CRAFT PUSHED ASTEROID’S ORBIT

NASA’s DART mission, which dropped a spacecraft on a small asteroid 6.8 million miles from Earth, was an “overwhelming success.” Data released on October 11 revealed that the orbit of the space rock was successfully shifted by the impact. The planetary defense test, which took place on September 26, aimed to see if we could nudge the path of a massive asteroid headed straight for our planet. This successful mission marks “the first time humanity has intentionally altered the motion of a celestial object and the first full demonstration of asteroid deflection technology,” NASA said. Before the impact, Dimorphos took 11 hours and 55 minutes to circle its parent asteroid, Gemini – but after the impact, its orbit is reduced by 32 minutes. The original goal was to shave off at least 10 minutes, so the results far exceeded that. read more