First Christmas Full Moon in 4 Decades to Coincide With Mega Asteroid Flyby
Is Earth doomed for a Christmas Day apocalypse? Well, no. As a matter of fact, a cosmic phenomenon will be happening on Christmas Eve, Dec. 24, as a mega asteroid will be zooming past our planet. And on Dec. 25, Earthlings will have their first Christmas full moon after almost four decades.
Aside from fireworks, there will be another reason why we'll be looking up at the sky on Christmas Eve and Christmas Day. According to Science Alert, Asteroid 2003 SD220, which was discovered in 2003 (hence the name), will be having a flyby, zooming past Earth about 11 million kilometers (almost 6.8 million miles) away, which is more than 28 times the distance between Earth and the Moon. Astronomers said the asteroid is approximately 2 kilometers in length and will be dashing through space at around 27 kilometers per second.
While several conspiracy theorists will claim that the upcoming mega-asteroid flyby will pose a threat on Earth, NASA has already addressed the concerns, saying there's nothing to worry about its impact on Earth. There is no truth about the reports claiming the asteroid, which is on an orbit that brings it a little closer to the Sun than Venus, will cause earthquakes.
"Those assertions are misleading and incorrect. Even if 2003 SD220 were passing closer, it's doubtful earthquakes would result," NASA Solar Ambassador Eddie Irizarry wrote. "In fact, there's no scientific evidence that an asteroid's flyby can cause any seismic activity, unless it collides with Earth, but -- in this case -- that clearly will not be the case."
While the size of the asteroid is pretty big, Phil Plait of Bad Astronomy said that asteroids of this size pass the Earth relatively often with no effects noting, "this asteroid couldn't cause a tremor in a mosquito's wing."
Aside from the mega asteroid flyby, a full moon will also coincide with Christmas Day for the first time since 1977. As per NASA's prediction, the same event won't occur again till 2034 while the asteroid won't return until 2018. It will also be the last full moon of 2015. Experts said its peak will occur at 6:11 a.m. EST.
"As we look at the Moon on such an occasion, it's worth remembering that the Moon is more than just a celestial neighbour," NASA's Goddard Space Flight Centre John Keller said. "The geologic history of the Moon and Earth are intimately tied together such that Earth would be a dramatically different planet without the Moon."
Despite conspiratorial articles, Earth is safe when the mega asteroid flyby occurs on Dec. 24 and astronomers at Arecibo in Puerto Rico and Goldstone in California will also seize the opportunity to study it with radar as it approaches.
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