Asteroid 2007 FF1 LIVE – NASA says ‘Hazardous’ space rock makes ‘close approach’ to Earth at 29,800mph

Saving Earth from asteroids

Some experts are worried that Earth isn’t yet ready to defend itself from potentially deadly asteroids.

SpaceX CEO Elon Musk once sparked concern when he tweeted: “a big rock will hit Earth eventually & we currently have no defense.”

Nasa is looking into having some defense methods set up, however.

It recently launched its Double Asteroid Redirection Test mission.

If an asteroid hit the Earth, conclusion

“So you burn things, kill everything in the ocean, and freeze the Earth, and it goes through about two years of constant winter,” Scharringhausen added.

He doesn’t think that all life on Earth would die after a large asteroid impact, since some small creatures survived the asteroid strike that once killed the dinosaurs.

Scharringhausen explained: “Not everything will die. If we’re thinking about people, the way to survive would be to get underground.”

“You could maybe ride it out in a bunker if you’ve got the supplies to make it through that period of winter where you can’t grow any edible food.”

“Maybe the finicky crops that humans like to grow won’t come through it so well, but there’s that seed repository, so if those are well-protected enough, you could get agriculture restarted.”

What would happen if an asteroid hit Earth, continued

Experts think we’d experience fires, shock waves, heat radiation, a large crater, acid rain, and giant tsunamis if such an asteroid ended up hitting the water.

, an associate professor of physics and astronomy at Beloit College, told : “All of the ash from the fires and all of the finer-grain debris from the impact will hang out in the atmosphere for a long time, and we get what’s called an impact winter.”

“It’s going to block the sunlight, and all that ash falling into the ocean acidifies the top layers.”

What would happen if an asteroid hit Earth?

Depending on the size of the space rock, an asteroid impact on the Earth could be an extinction-level event, and researchers have created simulations to see just how bad it could be.

Not all asteroids would mean the end of humanity and, in fact, a space rock would have to be pretty large to kill us all.

If an asteroid the size of the one that likely killed the dinosaurs hit Earth today, things would instantly change due to the force of the impact and its knock-on effect on the environment.

How fast was the asteroid moving?

According to , Asteroid 2007 FF1 flew within approximately 4.6 million miles of Earth on Friday.

The asteroid was moving at a speed of 29,800 mph.

What time did the asteroid pass?

Asteroid 2007 FF1 passed Earth on Friday afternoon.

It passed our planet on April 1 at around 4.35pm ET, according to .

Asteroid mystery solved, continued

Currently, the theory is that Ryugu originated from debris left by the collision of two larger asteroids, but that doesn’t explain why the asteroid is so high in organic content,  noted.

New findings published in  suggest Ryugu is, in fact, the remains of a dead or extinguished comet.

The new theory involves the comet losing its ice content in a way that could have ended up with it having the “unique characteristics” it does.

Lead author Miura told Newsweek: “Depending on whether Ryugu was originally an asteroid or a comet, it experienced a very different environment.”

“Asteroids formed in warm regions relatively close to the sun. On the other hand, comets formed in a cooler environment away from the sun.”

“To assume off the top of one’s head that Ryugu was originally an asteroid is to overlook the possibility that Ryugu may have been in a cold environment.”

Asteroid mystery solved?

Researchers may have “solved mysteries surrounding the origins of the spinning top-shaped asteroid Ryugu,”  reported.

In fact, it may actually be the remnants of a dead comet.

Space mission Hayabusa2 returned samples and images from the space rock Asteroid 162173, also known as Ryugu, in 2020.

It is classified as a potentially hazardous asteroid by NASA’s Center for Near-Earth Objects Studies.

Data from that mission showed that the asteroid has a “spinning top shape,” and that it is “a loose pile of gravitationally bound rubble” with plentiful organic material.

Asteroid longer than 4 blue whales

Asteroid 2007 FF1 is characterized as being "a minimum of four times the size of a blue whale" by the 

Valentine's Day asteroids

April Fool's Day isn't the only holiday this year when an asteroid is making a "close approach" to Earth.

2022 CF3 glided past Earth in the early hours of February 14, according to .

Asteroids 2020 DF and 2022 CF1 also passed Earth around the same time.

Asteroid 2007 FF1 is one of many

According to Nasa, Asteroid 2007 FF1 is travelling at roughly eight miles per second.

It's one of a dozen or so asteroids expected to make close approaches this week.

Thankfully, none of the asteroids being tracked by the space agency are thought to pose any danger to Earth.

Asteroid 2007 FF1's next approach

Asteroid 2007 FF1 will pass past Earth on April 1 at 17.35pm ET, according to .

The next close approach of 2007 FF1 to our planet won't happen until August 22, 2035.

April Fool’s Day asteroid details, conclusion

At a distance of around 4.5million miles, or 19.31 lunar distance, the near-Earth object is predicted to pass safely over Earth.

However, for astronomers, this is still a dangerous distance, which is why the asteroid is being continuously monitored.

April Fool’s Day asteroid details, continued

The asteroid, dubbed 2007 FF1, will reach its closest approach to Earth on Friday, April 1.

The enormous asteroid is around 260 meters or 850 feet in size, according to NASA's Center for Near-Earth Object Studies (CNEOS).

No other asteroid is currently being monitored and is expected to pass nearby in the next two weeks compares to 2007 FF1.

April Fool's Day asteroid details

NASA is tracking a massive asteroid, which is traveling at an incredible 30,000 miles per hour.

The asteroid, which is more than three times the size of India's world-famous towering white marble monument, the Taj Mahal, is capable of creating havoc if it collides with an Earth-like planet.

Types of asteroids: M-types

The M-type asteroids (nickel-iron) are made of metal. The compositional variations between asteroids are linked to how distant they originated from the Sun.

After they formed and partially melted, some endured tremendous temperatures, with iron sinking to the center and driving basaltic (volcanic) lava to the surface.

Types of asteroids: S-types

S-type (stony) asteroids are made up of nickel-iron silicate minerals.

Types of asteroids: C-Type

C-Type (chondrite) are the most common asteroids. They are most likely made up of clay and silicate rocks and have a black look. They are among the solar system’s oldest ancient things.

April Fool's Day

Space experts have said that a "potentially hazardous" asteroid is set to approach the Earth on Friday, April 1.

Astronomers say the closest that the  could get is about 4.6million miles away.

St Patrick’s Day asteroids, continued

A 78 foot asteroid called 2022 EU3 was the last close approach asteroid to shoot past Earth on St Patrick’s Day.

Asteroid 2022 EU3 came within 3.4 million miles of Earth.

The other two asteroids to make the St Paddy’s Day list were called 2022 EM6 and 2022 EU6.

They’re said to be about 200 feet and 183 feet large, respectively.

St Patrick’s Day asteroids

Before Asteroid 2013 BO76 flew by, Nasa was watching five close approach asteroids around St Patrick’s Day.

All of the asteroids made their close approaches to Earth that morning.

Asteroid 2019 PH1 was the largest at 203 feet wide.

The closest approach came from a slightly smaller space rock called 2022 EL6.

Youngest asteroids ever found in Solar System 

Researchers have found a pair of asteroids orbiting the Sun that was formed under 300 years ago.

Details of the Astronomical discovery were published in a  in the Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society.

The twin asteroids – dubbed 2019 PR2 and 2019 QR6 – are the youngest found in our solar system.

“It’s very exciting to find such a young  pair that was formed only about 300 years ago, which was like this morning – not even yesterday – in astronomical timescales,” astronomer Petr Fatka of the Astronomical Institute of the Czech Academy of Sciences said.

Asteroid captured in rare shot, continued

Ahead of the relatively close approach, scientists at the  captured an image of the asteroid in the night sky.

It was imaged using one of the Italian facility's largest scopes at a distance of about 7.2million miles from Earth.

"This about 200 meters large asteroid will reach its minimum distance from us on April 1 at 21:35 UTC," VTP founder Gianluca Masi wrote.

"Of course, there are no risks at all for our planet."

'Potentially hazardous' asteroid captured in rare shot

Astronomers got a rare glimpse of a potentially hazardous asteroid ahead of its scheduled pass of Earth this week.

Asteroid 2007 FF1 is expected to make a close and safe encounter with our planet on April 1, according to space trackers.

The April Fool's asteroid will pass within 4.6million miles of our planet – which is about roughly 19 times the distance between Earth and the Moon.

'A pretty elaborate trick'

The Weather Channel India on shared news of the approaching asteroid with its followers on Wednesday, March 30.

"This #AprilFoolsDay, the cosmos has a pretty elaborate trick in store, with a potentially hazardous #asteroid flying past our planet on April 1!" the account noted.