Asteroid 2021 SG passed very on the brink of earth on September 16 and came in undetected because it was hidden by our Sun. The asteroid posed no danger to our blue planet Asteroids are aplenty within the space and that they keep passing Earth many an times. In most of those times, astronomers keep an eye fixed out for these rocks way before they approach Earth. However, on September 16, we had a surprise visit from a reasonably large asteroid that passed our telescopes undetected. The 2021 SG asteroid was only discovered after the day it passed Earth!
Claimed to be as big as a gridiron , the 2021 SG went past Earth at a distance of 153,000 miles (246,000 kms), which is far closer than our Moon is. However, it passed us safely and is currently heading into the region , leaving our planet unharmed. Astronomers couldn’t steel oneself against its arrival because it used the Sun features a cloak to sneak past us.
Currently, the telescopes and other space technologies can keep an eye fixed out for all types of space objects floating round the Earth. This not only includes meteors, asteroids and comets, but also small peices of old satellite junk floating round the space. However, the detection fails for those objects that come from the direction of our sun.
The 2021 SG asteroid came at us from the direction of the sun. As a result, our astronomers were unable to ascertain it coming and will only detect it after it passed us. This technological disadvantage raised concerns back in 2013 too, when a meteor approached Earth during a similar fashion and blew up in our atmosphere.
At the time, a comparatively smaller meteor came in from the direction of our Sun and entered the Earth’s atmosphere over the town of Chelyabinsk, Russia. The rock exploded within the air but it generated shock waves that shattered windows across the town, leaving several injured as a result.
NASA, however, is functioning on an answer . The space agency is getting to deploy its NEO Surveyor spacecraft at an edge between the world and therefore the Sun. However, that launch goes to happen only in 2026 and until then, we’ve to hope of not getting visitors from the Sun’s side.
