Last week, Earth experienced a rare astronomical event when two large asteroids, 2024 MK and 2011 UL21, passed by within close range. Neither asteroid posed a danger, but their proximity allowed NASA to capture detailed radar images, providing valuable information for future asteroid studies and potential planetary defense strategies.
Asteroids occasionally pass by Earth as they orbit the Sun, and most are not a threat. However, objects that come within a certain distance or are above a certain brightness are classified as potentially hazardous. This is because unforeseen events, like collisions with other objects, could alter their paths toward Earth.
On June 27, 2011 UL21 flew past Earth at a distance of 6.6 million kilometers (4.1 million miles), about 17 times the distance between Earth and the Moon. Two days later, on June 29, 2024 MK made an even closer approach, passing within 295,000 kilometers (184,000 miles), roughly three-quarters of the distance to the Moon.
Imaging these objects is challenging due to their small size and low brightness. NASA uses a large radar telescope to transmit radio waves and receive return signals, creating images. 2024 MK’s closer proximity allowed for more detailed images, revealing its 150-meter (500-foot) elongated shape with flat planes, bumps, divots, boulders, and ridges. Discovered on June 16, 2024 MK’s path was influenced by Earth’s gravity, but it will safely avoid Earth in the future.
“This was an extraordinary opportunity to investigate the physical properties and obtain detailed images of a near-Earth asteroid,” said astronomer Lance Benner of NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory.
Although 2011 UL21’s images were less detailed, they included a surprise: a tiny moonlet orbiting the 1.5-kilometer-wide asteroid. This finding aligns with discoveries of other binary asteroid systems, such as last year’s identification of a moon around asteroid Dinkinesh and NASA’s Double Asteroid Redirection Test on the binary asteroid Dimorphos.
Improved imaging capabilities have led to more discoveries of binary asteroids, providing crucial information about their formation and enhancing planetary defense strategies. According to Benner, “It is thought that about two-thirds of asteroids of this size are binary systems,” highlighting the importance of these discoveries for understanding the Solar System’s evolution.
These events not only advance our knowledge of near-Earth objects but also offer reassurance that with continued observation and research, we can better prepare for any future asteroid threats.
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