A house-sized asteroid, named as 2012 TC4 is going to pass at an extreme proximity to Earth on 12th October. Though scientists yet are unable to predict accurately what will be the propinquity of the asteroid to our planet, they are quite assured that the asteroid will zip safely by the earth.
This asteroid was first discovered in October 2012 and since then was not seen. On 12th October 2012, the space rock was last seen when it passed by Earth at a distance, which is nearly one-fourth the remoteness between Earth and its only natural satellite, moon. The asteroid 2012 TC4 was discovered by researchers from the Panoramic Survey Telescope and Rapid Response System (Pan-STARRS) in Hawaii. As estimated by scientists, the asteroid is only 33 feet to 100 feet or 10 to 30 meters in dimension, and will mostly pose no risk to earth during its flyby. The asteroid 2012 TC4 is one of the most isolated and extremely faded space rocks to be detected over the course of last half decade.
As said by NASA officials, this asteroid will give Earth a close shear 12th October, and it’s possible closeness to earth will be 4,200 miles or 6,800 kilometers. Confirming the complete safety flyby, the officials of NASA said, there is no risk of a collision is expected to present by this small space rock on this pass. But for ensuring better protection, the astronomers will keep monitoring the flyby of the asteroid to earth very closely. NASA is going to take help of the international asteroid detection and tracking network for following the movement of the asteroid all through the sky.
As asteroid 2012 TC4 will start to come nearer to Earth, the major telescopes will be pointed towards it for re-establishing its exact trajectory. As expected by NASA, the new observations will help scientists getting a refined knowledge about the asteroid’s orbit and other details, which eventually will narrow the indecision about how far it will be positioned from Earth during its closest loom to earth in October.
As said by Vishnu Reddy, the lead of the project, from the University of Arizona’s Lunar and Planetary Laboratory in Tucson, “This is our team effort which includes researchers and astronauts from over a dozen of universities, observatories, and laboratories across the world so that we can jointly find out the potency and limitations of this near-Earth object which is all set to take a close flyby to earth on 12th October.”
Adding to the statement, researchers highlighted, “Our effort to track and monitor the space rock will put the entire system into effect. The effort will start with the initial follow-up observations and will carry on for precise orbit determination as well as the international communications”.
