NASA has recently turned its attention to a fascinating near-Earth asteroid that recently zipped past our planet. This oddly-shaped space rock, officially named 2024 ON, caught the eye of scientists due to its distinct peanut-like form.
During its flyby, NASA’s powerful Goldstone Solar System Radar, part of the Deep Space Network, captured detailed images of the asteroid. These images revealed a fascinating world, approximately 1150 feet long, with one lobe significantly larger than the other. The surface of 2024 ON is also dotted with features, likely boulders, measuring around 12.3 feet in diameter.
While 2024 ON passed by Earth at a safe distance of 620,000 miles (about 2.6 times the distance to the Moon), its proximity to our planet classifies it as a near-Earth object (NEO). However, the scientists are not particularly concerned about its closeness to Earth. Instead, they are fascinated by its unique shape.
The radar images show that 2024 ON completes a full rotation roughly every six hours. This rotation, coupled with its peanut-shaped form, presents a unique opportunity for researchers to study the internal structure and evolution of asteroids. The data gathered from this flyby will help scientists better understand the origins and potential dangers of these celestial objects.
The discovery of 2024 ON underscores the constant activity in our solar system and the ongoing efforts of scientists to study and understand the vast array of objects that share our cosmic neighborhood.
