Two small asteroids, 667 meters in diameter and 10 meters in length, are headed our way. They are called meteorsailers and will impact the Earth on December 26th at 11:34 AM EST.
Meteoroids can be extremely small, only a few meters in size. These meteoroids will be less than 2 centimeters in size!
Their speed as they cross the moon’s orbit is about 2 kilometers per second (about 1 mile per second). This is about the speed of a medium grade rocket ship.
Calculate their speeds as they cross the moon’s orbit
When two small asteroids approach the moon, their orbits around the earth and the sun change dramatically.
As they move through the solar system, they switch places with one another in their orbits. These minor planets are called interplanetary bodies because they orbit a larger planet.
These changes in orbit occur every few decades, which is why we do not see satellites on these objects. They must be moving so fast that nothing can keep up with them.
A meteor is a very high-speed object that breaks into many pieces as it travels.
The meteoroids will intersect each other’s paths
Between the two objects is a approximately 2,600 miles. Until they cross paths, these two tiny objects will move at a very low speed.
Their relative movements will cause them to collide at maximum speed in the middle of their orbits. This will occur approximately every six months!
This happens once in a while, as the planets are not always so close together in their orbits. This is why we have transits of the moon, where Earth passes directly in front of the moon!
These collisions happen at exactly the right time for Earth’s annual pass through these dust particles. It is an event known as perijove onset, or when it comes into our orbit at its closest angle.
These events are called close encounters because one body touches another with very little time for between to be safe.
They will hit each other and explode into fragments
This is one of the biggest meteor showers of the year, and it happens every year. Meteors can be around 3 to 3.5 inches in diameter and come from a group known as the Atego iron meteor shower. These meteors are made of iron, which makes them look reddish in color.
The Atego iron meteor shower occurs during January and February, when there is a longer period between sunset and sunrise. This is important for a meteor to fall asleep and sleep for awhile, before it wakes up and moves on to its journey.
These meteors are thought to travel about 4 km/s when they are flying, which is about 2 feet per second! That is pretty fast compared to other meteors.
If you were watching this event from Earth, you would see two slow moving objects close together in the sky. They will initially move apart until they hit each other and explode into fragments.
The fragments will enter Earth’s atmosphere
These two asteroids are coming closer to Earth this month, and their orbits bring them into close proximity to the moon every week. This makes it very important for people to be aware of their location as they cross the moon’s orbit.
These two asteroids are called Hebe and Amor, and they make a loop around the sun every few years. When they loop around, they come back into our reach as a space rock.
Hebe is about 2 kilometers wide, while Amor is about 1 kilometer wide. When they pass by Earth on August 12th-13th at around 2.0 km/s, it will be the fastest known approach of an asteroid to our planet since 1992.
Amor has a much more gradual change in speed as it passes the moon, which makes being aware of its approach more difficult.
Some of the fragments may reach Earth
Two pieces of an asteroid are headed towards Earth. One is a large chunk called a boomer, the other is a much smaller piece called a trojan.
The boomer is estimated to be 2.0 kilometers (1 mile) in size, and it will arrive in Earth’s orbit around September 26th at about 19:50 UTC (4:50 am EDT on September 27th). The trojan will arrive two weeks earlier on September 17th at about 22:20 UTC (7:20 am EDT on September 18th).
Boomers are usually round and contain no valuable metals or water. They may have been an important source of energy during the Jurassic period, when they were long enough to reach Earth.
The difference between a boom and a trojan is that the boomer has a small tail that comes out the back end of it. This means it needs to be careful while moving around in space as it searches for another home.
People should look to the sky to see if they hit Earth
On February 14 at 2:30 a.m., an unusual object will fly by the Earth at a speed of 2.0 km/s. This is the closest approach of an asteroid to our planet in more than 40 years!
An asteroid is a large celestial body that is not related to the sun, moon, and planets. As opposed to planets, asteroids do not have enough movement to be considered solid ground.
A meteor is a creations like stone or iron dust that hits the atmosphere and explodes as it enters. Because of this, they are known as meteor stones!
Meteorites may contain water or snow as they were frozen into them when they broke up in the atmosphere. If you see an unusual stone or dust falling from the sky, look for an entry point into the Earth’s orbit.
Scientists should study them before they hit Earth
Two comets are moving close to Earth at this moment. One of them is a Kuiper Comet, and the other is a Meteors. Both are very large objects, approximately 1 kilometer (1 mile) in diameter.
The Meteors are known for their fast orbits, as they come close to Earth only every 6-9 years. The Kuiper Comets have a much more normal orbit and stay in place for many years before coming close to Earth.
Both comets pass by the moon on September 18-19 at 2.0 km (1 mile) per second! That is faster than any spacecraft could travel, even if it had propellant for it. If you were heading out for a weekend adventure, you would want to be prepared for this!
It is important that we study these objects because we can learn something about our Solar System from their orbits.
People should prepare for impact with these meteoroids
Although very small, these two asteroids are still a threat to our planet.
Meteoroids come in all shapes and sizes, some so large that they merge with another body to form a larger one. These meteoroids are just the right size to enter the earth’s atmosphere and impact, potentially causing damage.
Their names may be more commonly known as cosmic dustings, since they can look like tiny specks of dust as they fly through the air.
These two new meteoroids are called 1855 and 2083-LH1. They were named after an earlier space rock named 1855, which entered our solar system around 1862. The younger rock was discovered in 1992, but it was not until 2015 that it was determined to be an impactor.
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