Question: What is another name of the Asteroid 1994 PC1, which flied past the Earth on January?
a) Asteroid 7482
b) Asteroid 8482
c) Asteroid 7492
d) None of these
Answer: (a)
Related Facts:-
- On 18 January 2022; a huge asteroid bigger than the size of Burj Khalifa is set to flied past Earth at a distance of 1,230,000-mile.
- The asteroid 7482, also known as 1994 PC1, is about 1.6 km in length i.e. much greater in size compared to Burj Khalifa, which is just 829.8 m.
- The asteroid 1994 PC1 has been categorised by US space agency NASA as a potentially hazardous object due to its relative proximity to the Earth while shooting past.
- It should be noted that NASA identifies asteroids as potentially hazardous if the asteroids follow these criteria-
i. More than about 140 meters in size and have-
ii. Orbits that bring them as close as within 4.6 million miles of Earth’s orbit around the Sun.
- The asteroid travels at a speed of 45,000 miles per hour. It’s a rocky asteroid.
- It orbits the sun at a distance of 0.9 to 1.8 AU. It follows an elliptic orbit.
- The asteroid’s rotation period is 2.599 hours per light curve analysis.
- The light curve tracks the intensity of light emitted by a celestial body.
By – Rajesh Tripathi