NASA Captures Images of Massive Asteroid 1997 QK1 Passing Earth

NASA has recently observed an asteroid named 1997 QK1, measuring approximately 660 feet in diameter, which is more than two American football fields wide. This significant space rock made its nearest approach to Earth on August 20, 2023, coming within 1.9 million miles of our planet. This marked the first time in over 350 years that the asteroid has traveled this close.

The flyby provided astronomers with a unique opportunity to study the asteroid’s size, rotation, surface features, and overall shape. Using the Goldstone Solar System Radar from NASA’s Deep Space Network, scientists gathered essential data that had previously been limited due to a lack of information about this ancient celestial object.

NASA classifies 1997 QK1 as a potentially hazardous asteroid, but the agency assures that it does not pose an immediate threat to Earth. Despite the asteroid’s classification, it is one of nearly 40,000 large near-Earth objects that astronomers actively monitor. While many asteroids orbit harmlessly in the belt between Mars and Jupiter, gravitational forces occasionally nudge them closer to our planet.

According to Lindley Johnson, NASA’s former planetary defense officer, the likelihood of a dangerous asteroid impact is extremely low, with significant events occurring roughly once a century. He emphasized that while the risk is minimal, the consequences of an impact can be catastrophic. For instance, NASA estimates that a 100 to 170-foot wide asteroid could devastate a small city.

In 2013, a 60-foot meteor exploded over Chelyabinsk, Russia, causing extensive property damage and injuring approximately 1,600 people. In response to potential threats, various countries are developing warning systems and deflection strategies. NASA’s $330 million DART mission successfully demonstrated the feasibility of such efforts in 2022, when it collided with a harmless asteroid and altered its trajectory.

The recent flyby of 1997 QK1 yielded valuable insights into asteroid behavior. Through a series of 28 radar images, astronomers discovered that the asteroid completes a full rotation every five hours and has a unique “contact binary” shape, resembling a long peanut. This shape is due to the asteroid having two rounded lobes, one of which is twice the size of the other, with valleys that reach depths of “tens of meters.”

Research indicates that approximately 15 percent of near-Earth asteroids of similar size exhibit this contact binary formation. These objects often consist of loose aggregates of material that gradually come together over time.

NASA projects that 1997 QK1 will come closer to Earth again in 2039, when it will approach within 1.5 million miles, which is still about six times the distance between Earth and the Moon. As astronomers continue to track this and other asteroids, the data collected will be instrumental in improving planetary defense strategies, regardless of the immediate threat posed by any specific asteroid.