In 2015, one of the news items that went viral on social networks, television and all media was the discovery of a strangely shaped comet that was approaching the earth on a very horrifying date. This asteroid was one of those that alarmed the population due to its resemblance to a “Skull” and this year it will again appear a little later than expected, although at a much greater distance than the previous one.
Its original name is TB145 but in the networks they baptized it as the “Skull Comet” since it has the shape of one but what made it known worldwide, in addition to generating absurd panic, was how close it passed to our planet since according to the scientists of the European Space Agency (ESA) they said that it approached 486,000 kilometers, which is actually a bit further than the Moon is from Earth.
The date on which it passed through that moment was a coincidence that it arrived on Halloween (Halloween) but this time it will not be until November 11, 2018 when it will make its appearance further from earth. The distance that has been calculated will be 105 times that separates us from our satellite, so there should be no fear of a disaster. However, it was also learned that its mass is heavy enough to destroy an entire city.
I could destroy a city
This comet, despite being a threat to Earth, is one of the objects that most fascinates astronomers since most of its trajectory is behind Mars, as well as being small (625 meters long) and dark. It is known that many years ago it was a comet but it lost its volatile elements (tail) when it was close to the sun, so it became a dead rock that wanders through space waiting for its end and the further from our planet the better. .
After it goes through these dates, it will not make its appearance again until the year 2082 where this time it will approach a third of the distance between the Earth and the Sun, which is again impossible for it to touch the earth or we have to be at the expectation of some tragedy.
Another name by which it is known is ‘Halloween asteroid’, ‘the Great Pumpkin’ or ‘Death’s comet’ although it is more often called “Skull Comet” but it is estimated that by this visit it has already lost its skull feature and for the third it is even less similar.
Asteroid Data:
- Name: TB145
- Year discovered: October 10, 2015 (Pan-STARRS Telescope – Hawaii, United States.)
- Length: 625 meters L.
- 1st Pass near Earth: 486,000 kilometers from Earth (October 31, 2015)
- 2nd Passage close to Earth: 40 million kilometers (November 11, 2018)
- 3rd Pass near Earth: 50 million kilometers (2082)