Yarkovsky Effect Navigate to Earth Orbit Asteroid

In the past 12 years, astronomers discovered that the orbits of some asteroids have been moved about 100 miles from its original orbit due to the strongly drawn by an effect called the “Yarkovsky effect”.

“Yarkovsky effect could push the asteroid into or out of Earth orbit,” said Josh Emery of the University of Tennessee. “Understanding these effects is very important to know whether there might be an asteroid that could hit the Earth,” he added. Astronomers have discovered many asteroids are likely to hit Earth in the middle of this century.

Among the asteroid is predicted to hit Earth is a small galaxy 1999 RQ36. Small galaxies are expected to pass Earth in 2135. Asteroids are known to have moved 100 miles from the original orbit, this is caused by the Yarkovsky effect.

Emery conducted the study using NASA’s Spitzer Space Telescope in 2007 to measure the thermal characteristics of the asteroids discovered that the asteroid is covered by fine material. “The longer the surface can withstand the heat, the stronger the effect will Yarkovskynya influence,” said Emery. “Therefore, if an asteroid composed of solid rock, then the effect will be stronger because it can withstand heat longer, but if the material is composed of fine materials such as dust or sand, then the cooling will be faster so that the influence of the effect is much weaker,” he added as dailymail.co.uk quoted, Friday (08/06/2012).

Asteroid 1999 RQ36. Image credit: dailymail.co.uk

Determine the influence of the Yarkovsky effect on the asteroid 1999 RQ36 at once to find out how much potential danger if the asteroid actually pass Earth in 2135 years later.

Asteroid with a diameter of 500 meters is expected to pass Earth at a distance of 2135 at 220 thousand miles. at closer distances, the asteroid trajectory sult to be accurately predicted and can only be an estimate by using statistical data.

Yarkovsky effect itself was taken from a Russian engineer in the 19th century who first discovered that a space rock dala orbital period of time will turn when it absorbs the sun’s rays will then retransmit the effect of sunlight was in the form of heat. The effect is very difficult to measure because it is very small.

Yarkovsky effect is found in the asteroid 1999 RQ36 in an effort to determine the mass of the asteroid at a distance of millions of miles from Earth. Found that the asteroid has a water and porous.