Spot these Near-Earth Asteroids to Model their Shapes

June and July cover Asteroid Day — and there are two Near-Earth asteroids (NEAs) poised to join the celebration! Asteroids 25916 (2001CP44) and 215188 (2000NM) will be close enough for Citizen Astronomers to find them with their telescopes. As a bonus, both NEAs are great candidates for Unistellar observers to help refine their orbits and model their 3D shapes.

The two asteroids are relatively large. 25916 (2001CP44) is estimated to be 5.68 kilometers in diameter, and 215188 (2000NM) is around 2.6 km. For reference, an impact from a one km asteroid could be enough to destroy a continent; the Chicxulub impact that wiped out the dinosaurs 66 million years ago was caused by an asteroid 10 km wide.

With such large space rocks zooming by Earth, it’s important to understand the 3D shapes of NEAs like these for planetary defense. If an asteroid were on a path to hit our planet, one solution would be to deflect it by launching a rocket that would change its trajectory. The more we know about the size and shape of an asteroid, the better our chance at success.

As of today, we know of more than 25,000 Near-Earth asteroids, but have shape models for fewer than 100. That’s why scientists at Unistellar and the SETI institute use Unistellar Network observations to refine the orbits of Near-Earth asteroids and build their 3D shapes.

Both NEAs will be visible all June and July, and observing asteroids like these is a great way to join in with the Asteroid Month celebrations, which happen around the world. Asteroid Month is the month-long celebration leading up to Asteroid Day on June 30, an international, U.N.-sanctioned event to raise awareness about the risks of asteroids and their role in our Solar System.

(Left) Orbit of 2001CP44 by Tony Dunn. (Right) Orbit of 2000NM by Tony Dunn. 

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