Monday 16 / September / 2024
Muscat: The Oman Astronomical Society has confirmed that a recently discovered asteroid, 2024 RW1, burned completely while passing through the Earth's atmosphere. The asteroid was small and posed no danger to the surface.
Dr. Ishaq bin Yahya Al-Shuaili, Chairman of the Board of Directors of the Oman Astronomical Society, explained that the asteroid was discovered by the Catalina Sky Survey Project, affiliated with the University of Arizona, a few hours before it approached Earth at a speed of up to 17 kilometers per second. Initial calculations indicated the possibility of it colliding with Earth near the island of Luzon, north of the Philippines, at dawn today.
He said that the size of the asteroid was about 1.5 meters, which is very small and does not pose a major danger to the Earth. He pointed out that such events occur periodically and do not require concern.
Al-Shaili stressed that the real danger that the Earth may face lies in large objects whose diameters exceed tens or hundreds of meters. He referred to the success achieved by scientists in 2022 when they were able to change the path of the small moon "Dimorphos" by colliding with the "DART" spacecraft launched by the US space agency "NASA". This achievement is evidence of humanity's ability, in theory, to deal with large objects that may pose a danger to the Earth.
