UPDATE - I just discovered, it's not the 40 meter asteroid. It's a much smaller object only 2 meters in diameter.
Details here: it's a light object that's going to burn up south of Sri Lanka.
Only about 2 meters in diameter, far too small and light to get down to ground level, but might be visible as a bright fireball. The fuel tank hypothesis seems likely :).
Here is an image of it
The small dot in the middle of the picture.
And news story about it here: And wikipedia article.
I can understand why it would seem like UFO behaviour to some - but it's normal behaviour.
At any time Earth probably has at least one natural satellite of one meter diameter anyway. They orbit Earth temporarily, then they go away again, usually don't impact Earth. But keep coming back and eventually would hit Earth probably.
That's because of the presence of the Moon, makes the gravity around Earth very complex and it is easy for satellites to get captured temporarily depending on how they approach the system, can then orbit around Earth for months or longer, before usually, eventually departing back into interplanetary space, just through the gravitational effects of the Earth, Moon and Sun.
The space junk is especially likely to do this since it was launched into space from Earth originally. So, it's not too surprising if eventually, years or decades later, it returns to Earth.
There is nothing hazardous currently predicted for that time,or indeed at any time in the next century. There's a small object only 40 meters in diameter due to fly by at 60 times the distance to the Moon. My original answer was about that, but turns out that's not what it is so I've cut that section, will put it as a comment.
To find out more, and to learn where to look to check to see if there are any known currently hazardous meteorites (never have been to date), see
Giant Asteroid Headed Your Way? - How We Can Detect And Deflect Them
Details here: it's a light object that's going to burn up south of Sri Lanka.
Only about 2 meters in diameter, far too small and light to get down to ground level, but might be visible as a bright fireball. The fuel tank hypothesis seems likely :).
Here is an image of it
And news story about it here: And wikipedia article.
I can understand why it would seem like UFO behaviour to some - but it's normal behaviour.
At any time Earth probably has at least one natural satellite of one meter diameter anyway. They orbit Earth temporarily, then they go away again, usually don't impact Earth. But keep coming back and eventually would hit Earth probably.
That's because of the presence of the Moon, makes the gravity around Earth very complex and it is easy for satellites to get captured temporarily depending on how they approach the system, can then orbit around Earth for months or longer, before usually, eventually departing back into interplanetary space, just through the gravitational effects of the Earth, Moon and Sun.
The space junk is especially likely to do this since it was launched into space from Earth originally. So, it's not too surprising if eventually, years or decades later, it returns to Earth.
There is nothing hazardous currently predicted for that time,or indeed at any time in the next century. There's a small object only 40 meters in diameter due to fly by at 60 times the distance to the Moon. My original answer was about that, but turns out that's not what it is so I've cut that section, will put it as a comment.
To find out more, and to learn where to look to check to see if there are any known currently hazardous meteorites (never have been to date), see
Giant Asteroid Headed Your Way? - How We Can Detect And Deflect Them
About the Author
Robert Walker
Writer of articles on Mars and Space issues - Software Developer of Tune Smithy, Bounce Metronome etc.Studied at Wolfson College, Oxford
Lives in Isle of Mull
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