2023 NT1 is a near-Earth asteroid, approximately 30 meters in diameter,[1] that passed within 1/4 lunar distances on July 13, 2023.
It was not discovered until 2 days after closest approach due to coming from the daylight direction.[2][3]
The asteroid now has a 62-day observation arc, and it is known that it will pass a harmless 1.1 AU (160 million km; 430 LD) from Earth in July 2044.[4] It was removed from the Sentry Risk Table on 16 September 2023.
In October 2023, a group of astronomers published a preprint that analysed the circumstances of this near-Earth encounter, and proposed planetary defense measures to mitigate the danger presented by similar future incidents, using hypervelocity kinetic penetrators to reduce the approaching impactor to fragments small enough to disintegrate as they entered the atmosphere.[5]
See also edit
References edit
- ^ De Cosmo, Leonardo (2023-07-19). "La Terra sfiorata da un asteroide di 30 metri, visto in ritardo - Spazio e Astronomia - Ansa.it". Agenzia ANSA (in Italian). Retrieved 2023-11-06.
- ^ Griffin, Andrew (2023-07-17). "Huge asteroid nearly crashes into Earth – and is only spotted days later". The Independent. Retrieved 2023-11-06.
- ^ Mack, Eric. "Hotel-Sized Asteroid Undetected Until Two Days After Close Pass By Earth". Forbes. Retrieved 2023-11-06.
- ^ "Horizons Batch for 2044-07-12 Virtual Impactor". JPL Horizons. Retrieved 2023-07-22. (JPL#8/Soln.date: 2023-Jul-21)
- ^ Bailey, Brin K.; Cohen, Alexander N.; Patel, Dharv; Lubin, Philip; Boslough, Mark; Robertson, Darrel; Egan, Sasha; Khetia, Jeeya; Costa, Teagan; Silber, Elizabeth; Sagert, Irina; Korobkin, Oleg; Sjoden, Glenn (2023). "Asteroid 2023 NT1: A Cautionary Tale". arXiv:2310.13112 [astro-ph.EP].
External links edit
- Minor Planet Electronic Circular MPEC 2023-O01 : 2023 NT1 distributed by the IAU's Minor Planet Center
- Database entry for 2023 NT1 at the JPL Small-Body Database
 | This near-Earth asteroid-related article is a stub. You can help Wikipedia by expanding it. |