After collapsing into pieces in December 2020, the mighty Arecibo Observatory has a final parting gift for humanity – and it’s a doozy.
Scientists have published the largest radar-based near-Earth report using data from Arecibo, December 2017 to December 2019. asteroidsEver published.
The September 22nd, 2009 report was published. The Planetary Science Journal, includes detailed observations of 191 near-Earth asteroids, including nearly 70 that are deemed “potentially hazardous” – that is, large asteroids with orbits that bring them within 4.65 million miles (7.5 million kilometers) of EarthThis is roughly 20 times the distance between Earth’s surface and itss. The Moon.
NASA states that none of the newly discovered asteroids pose a danger to Earth. Keep yourself safe from deadly asteroid impactFor at least the next 100.
However, scientists still pay close attention to near-Earth objects like these in case their trajectories happen to shift by some fluke of nature – say, a bump from another asteroid – thereby putting them on a collision course with Earth.
The new report also flagged several asteroids deemed worthy of future study, including an oddball space object called 2017 YE5 – an ultra-rare “equal mass” binary asteroid, made of two nearly identical size rocks that are constantly orbiting one another.
Each rock is approximately 800-900 meters in diameter and measures between 2,600 to 2,950 feet.
Researchers speculate that the asteroid’s high radar reflectivity could indicate a large amount of water ice underneath its surface. This may make it an unprecedented class of icy, equal-mass, near-Earth asteroid.
Scientists can now better assess the shapes, sizes and spin periods of these asteroids, which are critical metrics to evaluate the risks they may pose to our planet. Lead study author Anne VirkkiA researcher at the University of Helsinki’s Department of Physics, in Finland, is. Make a statement.
Study co-author: “The value of the data collected is unrivalled, and these results cannot have been achieved using any other facility.” Flaviane VendittiArecibo’s Planetary Radar Science Group Head, Addition.
In Puerto Rico, the Arecibo Observatory was built in 1963. It became the largest and most powerful radio telescope in the world. The iconic telescope dish measuring 1,000 feet (305 meters) in diameter became famous after it was used in films such as Get in touch(1997) GoldenEye (1995).
In the scientific community, the observatory was already well-known for its ability to beam. The first message sent by humanity to aliens into space in 1974.
Arecibo also made observations of asteroids that were used to plan NASA’s Double Asteroid Redirection Test, (DART) mission. Spacecraft crashed into an asteroid near EarthDimorphos altered its orbital period to 32 minutes.
Arecibo’s life ended abruptly in December 2020 when two crucial support cables failed, resulting in the complete collapse.
In October 2022, the National Science Foundation – which owns the site on which Arecibo was built – announced that the The telescope cannot be replacedMany scientists and space enthusiasts around the world are dismayed that the spacecraft cannot be repaired.
Researchers are still analyzing a backlog of data from Arecibo, the team noted – so the world’s most famous dead telescope may still have more scientific gifts to offer us from beyond the grave in the years to come.
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This article was first published by Live Science. You can read the original article Here.
