Two Near-Earth Asteroid Flybys: 1.5-Kilometer-Wide Binary System 2011 UL21 and Elongated 500-Foot Wide Asteroid 2024 MK Approach Earth, Revealing Crucial Data for Planetary Defense
Asteroid 2024 MK, discovered only days before its closest approach, is about 500 feet (150 meters) wide and elongated in shape.
Binary system 2011 UL21 is nearly mile-wide (1.5-kilometer-wide) with a moonlet orbiting it from a distance of about 3 kilometers.
NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory used the Deep Space Network's Goldstone Solar System Radar to track both asteroids and reveal their spherical shape and moonlets.
Two asteroids, 2011 UL21 and 2024 MK, had close encounters with Earth on June 27 and June 29 respectively.
On June 27 and June 29, Earth had two close encounters with asteroids. The first one, named 2011 UL21, is a binary system with a moonlet orbiting it from a distance of about 1.9 miles (3 kilometers). This asteroid is nearly mile-wide (1.5-kilometer-wide) and passed by Earth at a distance of 4.1 million miles (6.6 million kilometers), which is about 17 times the distance between the Moon and Earth.
The second asteroid, named 2024 MK, was discovered only 13 days before its closest approach to Earth and is about 500 feet (150 meters) wide. It appears elongated and angular in shape. This asteroid passed by Earth at a distance of approximately 184,000 miles (295,000 kilometers), which is just 75% of the distance between Earth and the Moon.
NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) in Southern California tracked both asteroids using the Deep Space Network's 230-foot wide (70 meter) Goldstone Solar System Radar. Scientists used this antenna to send radio waves to the asteroids and received the reflected signals, revealing their spherical shape and their moonlets.
These close encounters provide crucial data for planetary defense. Understanding the size, orbit, and composition of near-Earth objects is essential for preparing against potential future threats. The information gathered from these flybys helps scientists refine their models and improve our ability to detect and respond to similar objects in the future.
Asteroid 2011 UL21 passed by Earth on June 27, coming closest at a distance of 4.1 million miles (6.6 million kilometers)
NASA used a powerful radar to capture images of asteroid 2011 UL21 and its moonlet
Asteroid 2011 UL21 is approximately one mile wide (1.5 kilometers)
There are no known asteroids that could potentially hit Earth for over a century
NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory provided valuable information on the discovered binary system
Accuracy
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No formal fallacies found in the author's statements. However, there is an example of inflammatory rhetoric and a dichotomous depiction.
A giant NASA radar in the remote Mojave Desert imaged some formidable asteroids — including a 1-mile-wide behemoth — as they passed through our planet's neighborhood.
A 500-foot-wide asteroid would pose a serious risk to Earthlings if it landed in a populated area. A considerably smaller rock, some 100 to 170 feet across, could create a blast big enough to destroy Kansas City.
Near-Earth asteroid 2011 UL21 passed by Earth on June 27, approximately 4.1 million miles away.
Asteroid 2011 UL21 is a mile-wide (about 1.5 kilometers) in diameter.
NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Southern California revealed a moon in asteroid 2011 UL21’s orbit.
About two-thirds of asteroids of this size are binary systems and their discovery is important for estimating their mutual orbits, masses, and densities.
Accuracy
Asteroid 2011 UL21 passed by Earth on June 27, approximately 4.1 million miles away.
NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Southern California revealed a moon in asteroid 2011 UL21’s orbit.
NASA obtained detailed images of asteroid 2024 MK.
On July 3, 2024, an asteroid named 2024 MK with a size of about 500 feet (150 meters) came within approximately 184,000 miles (295,000 kilometers) of Earth.
NASA collected its first-ever asteroid samples from deep space on an elongated and angular shaped asteroid named 2024 MK.
A pair of 'planet-killing' asteroids were caught on video by NASA as they hurtled past Earth last week.
Asteroid 2024 MK, first spotted just 13 days before it came its closest to Earth, was determined to be a 500-feet long, ‘elongated and angular’ object.
Asteroid 2011 UL21, a nearly mile-wide object that sped by Earth at 58,000 miles per hour, was seen with a ‘moonlet’ orbiting about two miles from its surface.
Accuracy
No Contradictions at Time
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Deception
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None Found At Time Of
Publication
Fallacies
(95%)
The author uses the term 'planet-killing' asteroids repeatedly to sensationalize the article and create a sense of urgency. This is an example of inflammatory rhetoric. The author also quotes ESA officials stating that an asteroid of this size would cause considerable damage, which is a statement of fact and not a fallacy.
]An asteroid this size would cause considerable damage[
These two monster space rocks were caught on video by NASA as they hurtled past Earth
Asteroid 2011 UL21 is a binary system with a moonlet orbiting it from a distance of about 1.9 miles (3 kilometers).
Asteroid 2024 MK is about 500 feet (150 meters) wide and appears elongated and angular.
Accuracy
Asteroid 2011 UL21 passed by Earth on June 27, coming closest at a distance of 4.1 million miles (6.6 million kilometers)
Asteroid 2011 UL21 is approximately one mile wide (1.5 kilometers)
Asteroid 2024 MK passed by Earth on June 29, coming closest at a distance of approximately 184,000 miles (295,000 kilometers)
Asteroid 2011 UL21 is a mile-wide (about 1.5 kilometers) in diameter
NASA obtained detailed images of asteroid 2024 MK
Asteroid 2011 UL21 was among the top 10 largest asteroids to have passed within 4.6 million miles from Earth in the last 124 years.
About two-thirds of asteroids of this size are binary systems and their discovery is important for estimating their mutual orbits, masses, and densities.
