Giant asteroid flying near Earth looks like it knows there’s a pandemic, photo shows
An asteroid flying near Earth knows better than to come close without protection right now.
Scientists became aware of the asteroid, 52768 (1998 OR2), in 1998 and classified it as “potentially hazardous” because it periodically comes close to Earth’s orbit, according to NASA. At 1 mile in diameter, it’s also large enough to cause “global effects” if it impacted Earth but doesn’t currently pose a threat.
On Wednesday, NASA says the asteroid will come within about 3.9 million miles of Earth, which is about 16 times farther away than the moon.
It posted a video on Twitter showing the asteroid’s project path and it passing safely by Earth.
But the asteroid seems to know there’s an ongoing pandemic, and it’s not taking any chances.
In a photo of the asteroid from the Arecibo Observatory in Puerto Rico, which is funded by NASA, it appears to be wearing a face mask.
“The small-scale topographic features such as hills and ridges on one end of asteroid 1998 OR2 are fascinating scientifically,” Anne Virkki, head of Planetary Radar at the observatory, said in a press release last week. “But since we are all thinking about COVID-19 these features make it look like 1998 OR2 remembered to wear a mask.”
Scientists at Arecibo observed the asteroid starting on April 13 until it was no longer visible to them on April 23, the release says.
The observations allow scientists to know more about where the asteroid will be in the future, according to the release. In 2079, it will pass Earth about 3.5 times closer than it will this year.
“Although this asteroid is not projected to impact Earth, it is important to understand the characteristics of these types of objects to improve impact-risk mitigation technologies,” Virkki said in the release.
This story was originally published April 26, 2020 at 9:37 AM with the headline "Giant asteroid flying near Earth looks like it knows there’s a pandemic, photo shows."
