Latest news with #NEOCC
Yahoo
4 days ago
- General
- Yahoo
Bug-eyed telescope ready to find Earth-smashing asteroids
It's only a matter of time before a catastrophically sized asteroid barrels towards Earth again. Until very recently in human history, there was no way of knowing if one was hurtling towards us, much less do anything to alter its path. Now, international space agencies and disaster preparedness experts have powerful tools to keep watch over the skies—and the newest aide just opened its bug-inspired compound 'eye.' According to the European Space Agency, the Flyeye-1 telescope recently completed its 'first light' test at the Italian Space Agency's Space Geodesy Center, located about 160 miles east of Naples. Soon, it and as many as three other similar installations around the world will work in tandem to provide comprehensive, automated surveys of space every night to scan for cosmic threats. 'The earlier we spot potentially hazardous asteroids, the more time we have to assess them and, if necessary, prepare a response,' explains Richard Moissl, Head of ESA's Planetary Defence Office. 'ESA's Flyeye telescopes will be an early-warning system, and their discoveries will be shared with the global planetary defence community.' Similar to an insect's vision (hence its name), Flyeye captures incoming light through its 3.3-foot-wide primary mirror. That light is divided into 16 independent channels, all equipped with their own secondary lens and detector cameras designed to flag extremely faint objects. Flyeye's automated observation schedule is designed to factor in variables such as lunar brightness along with other survey telescopes like NASA's ATLAS, the Zwicky Transient Facility, and the forthcoming Vera Rubin Telescope. So what happens if Flyeye spies a suspicious space rock out there in deep space? The plan is for experts at ESA's Near-Earth Object Coordination Center (NEOCC) to review and verify any potential concerns. If the situation warrants further investigation, the NEOCC will then forward their report to the Minor Planet Center, a global hub for asteroid data. Subsequent research will lead to international contingency planning, which could involve any number of solutions, such as smacking the asteroid off course with a targeted spacecraft launch. Before that can happen, Flyeye needed to demonstrate its up to the task. For its first light test, Flyeye focused on multiple known asteroids, including 2025 KQ. Astronomers discovered the space rock only two days earlier, offering direct proof that the telescope is already capable of rapid follow-up observations. 'These images of the sky above the ancient stone hills of Matera, Italy, are more than just a test—they are proof that Flyeye is ready to begin its mission,' ESA said in its announcement. Flyeye-1 is now on its way for installation on Monte Mulfara in Sicily. If all goes according to plan, the telescope's first sibling will be up and running sometime in 2028.
Yahoo
21-02-2025
- Science
- Yahoo
Good news! Asteroid 2024 YR4's Earth impact odds sharply drop
After briefly surpassing the potential threat of all other known asteroids, further observations have rapidly diminished the danger posed by 2024 YR4. Since its discovery just after Christmas, asteroid 2024 YR4 has caused some alarm. Initially flagged as a potentially hazardous asteroid, with just over a 1 per cent chance of hitting Earth in December of 2032, the odds of impact kept rising as more observations came in. Earlier this week, they even topped 3 per cent. According to the European Space Agency's Near-Earth Object Coordination Centre (NEOCC), this surpassed the highest impact probability set by asteroid Apophis, of 2.7 per cent, set back in 2004. Any danger from Apophis has been completely ruled out by now. Based on new information gathered over the past few days, it's very likely the same will soon be true of 2024 YR4. READ MORE: Astronomers have been tracking 2024 YR4 with their telescopes, and with those added observations, NASA and the ESA have gained a better understanding of exactly what path this object follows as it orbits the Sun. The Earth Impact Risk Summary for 2024 YR4, with data up to February 20, 2025, has significantly reduced the danger from this asteroid. (NASA CNEOS) As a result, its odds of impacting Earth on December 22, 2032 have dropped — first from 3.1 per cent down to 1.5 per cent as of February 19, and then down to 0.27 per cent as of February 20. Currently, there's just a 1 in 370 chance of impact, with a 99.73 per cent chance that it will miss. As noted in the image above, from NASA's Center for Near-Earth Object Studies (CNEOS), 2024 YR4's risk level on the Torino scale has even dropped from 3 (a close encounter, meriting attention by astronomers) to 1 (a routine discovery in which a pass near the Earth is predicted that poses no unusual level of danger). The Torino Scale of Impact Risk. (NASA CNEOS) The full text of a Torino scale of 1 reads: "A routine discovery in which a pass near the Earth is predicted that poses no unusual level of danger. Current calculations show the chance of collision is extremely unlikely with no cause for public attention or public concern. New telescopic observations very likely will lead to re-assignment to Level 0." One remarkable thing about the new observations is that, while they are reducing the risk of impact with Earth, they are actually increasing the odds that 2024 YR4 will strike the Moon. The new uncertainy region for 2024 YR4's close enounter with the Earth-Moon system on December 22, 2032 has the asteroid's potential passes almost completely clearing Earth, but are now nearly centred on the orbit of the Moon. The original NEOCC image has been enlarged, with the location of the Moon on that date added based on NASA simulations. (ESA NEOCC/NASA CNEOS) "With this new data, the chance of an impact with the Moon increased slightly to 1%," Molly Wasser, the Outreach Coordinator for NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center, posted on the agency's Planetary Defense blog. "NASA's planetary defense teams will continue to monitor the asteroid to improve our predictions of the asteroid's trajectory." Given that the asteroid is likely around 60 metres wide, it would not cause any significant damage to the Moon if it hit. Also, it's doubtful anyone on Earth would notice the crater that formed, even if they were using a powerful telescope. If such an impact does take place, it may be up to NASA's Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter to reveal the results of it. Click here to view the video
