An asteroid heading for Earth has changed its trajectory in a strange way

(ORDO NEWS) — Asteroid 2022 AE1 was discovered on January 6, and a day later, the automated system for determining the orbit of asteroids (AstOD) recognized it as potentially dangerous. This system automatically calculates orbits from asteroid observation data provided by telescopes and observatories around the world.

The asteroid was moving so fast that it didn’t have enough time to try to swerve, and the European Space Agency (ESA) said that unfortunately the chance of a collision is increasing.

For several busy January days this year, astronomers tracked a near-Earth object heading towards Earth. Its trajectory indicated that it would hit the planet in 2023, but it strangely changed course.

The asteroid was on its way to Earth, and astronomers had already predicted enormous damage from its collision on July 4, 2023.

The asteroid was moving so fast that it didn’t physically have time to try to deflect, the European Space Agency (ESA) said.

After seven days of observations, the probability of a collision with the Earth increased. The first observations were followed by a dramatic week when the Moon covered a dangerous object, and no one knows what happened to it.

When the Moon opened the view, the telescope showed that the probability of impact had dropped sharply. It has since been confirmed that 2022 AE1 will not impact Earth and has been removed from ESA’s list of hazardous objects.

Astronomers predict that asteroid 2022 AE1 will pass from Earth at a distance of about ten million kilometers, which is almost 20 times the distance to the Moon.

However, the very fact of such a sharp change in the asteroid’s flight trajectory remains strange. What or who influenced him remains a mystery.

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