{"id":111665,"date":"2020-08-06T13:47:50","date_gmt":"2020-08-06T17:47:50","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.ucf.edu\/news\/?p=111665"},"modified":"2020-09-29T16:46:08","modified_gmt":"2020-09-29T20:46:08","slug":"arecibo-observatory-returns-from-tropical-storm-isaias-lockdown-to-track-asteroid-for-nasa","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.ucf.edu\/news\/arecibo-observatory-returns-from-tropical-storm-isaias-lockdown-to-track-asteroid-for-nasa\/","title":{"rendered":"Arecibo Observatory Returns from Tropical Storm Isaias Lockdown to Track Asteroid for NASA"},"content":{"rendered":"

The Earth has one less asteroid to worry about thanks to the research of an international team of scientists at the Arecibo Observatory in Puerto Rico.<\/p>\n

Asteroid 2020 NK1 was spotted in early July by the Asteroid Terrestrial-impact Last Alert System (ATLAS) survey team at the University of Hawaii. Little was known about the asteroid, making it difficult to predict exactly where the asteroid would travel in the future. It was estimated to be 1,600 feet in diameter, about the length of five football fields. Before the Arecibo observations, 2020 NK1 was calculated to be one of the biggest threats out of all known asteroids on NASA’s list of potential impactors, with about one chance in 70,000 of impacting the Earth between 2086 and 2101.<\/p>\n

Arecibo\u2019s Planetary Radar Group made it a priority to observe 2020 NK1 when it came within range \u2013 within 5 million miles \u2013 of the facility\u2019s powerful instruments. In this case, the time period was brief, July 30-31, just about the same time Tropical Storm Isaias was expected to slam into the island.<\/p>\n

The observatory shut down to prepare for the storm, and as soon as it passed the team jumped into action to detect and study the asteroid. Even as parts of the island lost power and damage was assessed, the Arecibo team was able to determine the asteroid\u2019s shape, orbit and motion.<\/p>\n

\u201cFortunately, the storm passed quickly without damage to the telescope or the radar system, and the maintenance and electronics teams were able to activate the telescope from hurricane lockdown in time for the observations,\u201d says Sean Marshall, an observatory scientist who led the team during the radar observations.<\/p>\n

The team of scientists and telescope operators was able to observe the asteroid for two and half hours, collecting precise measurements of the asteroid\u2019s speed and distance from Earth as well as high-resolution images of the asteroid. \u201cThese measurements greatly improve our knowledge of 2020 NK1\u2019s orbit and allow for predictions of its future whereabouts for decades to come,\u201d says Patrick Taylor, a Texas scientist at the Lunar and Planetary Institute, part of Universities Space Research Association, who participated in the observation remotely.<\/p>\n

The observations showed the asteroid is not expected to get close enough to Earth to pose a danger in the future, with its closest approach coming in 2043 when it will pass about 2.25 million miles from Earth \u2013 or more than 9 times farther away than the Moon, the team concluded.<\/p>\n