Amateur astronomer from Brazil discovers large asteroid that flew past earth this week

An amateur astromer from Brazil discovered a large, possibly dangerous asteroid that safely passed by Earth on Thursday, September 10. 

 asteroid, called 2020 QU6, measures roughly 3,280 feet (1,000 meters) wide and is large eugh to cause a global catastrophe if it were to hit Earth. However, it posed risk as it flew past our planet at a distance of more than 40 million kilometres, which is more than 100 times distance between Earth and moon, a statement from Planetary Society said. 

Bruce Betts, chief scientist at Planetary Society, said in statement that we hear about asteroid discoveries more frequently because scientists are getting better at finding and tracking near-Earth objects (NEOs). re is sudden increase in frequency of asteroids, it is just that scientists are better at spotting m w, he said.

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How was asteroid 2020 QU6 located?

Amateur astromer Leonardo Amaral discovered asteroid 2020 QU6 on August 27 at Campo dos Amarais observatory near Sao Paulo, Brazil. In 2019, he received an $8,500 grant from Planetary Society to purchase better telescope equipment to find, track, and characterize NEOs more effectively. 

Amaral's location in Sourn Hemisphere also offers a unique view for spotting a large asteroid such as this, because several professional asteroid-tracking sky surveys are situated in rrn Hemisphere, statement re. 

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With NASA and or major ncies alrey tracking asteroids, discovery of asteroid 2020 QU6 this close to Earth highlights importance of ground-based astromers like Amaral. Casey Dreier, chief vocate and senior policy viser for Planetary Society, also pointed out that re is a need to invest in new -based capabilities, such as NASA's NEO Surveillance Mission (NEOSM), which is a telescope designed to locate and track hazardous near-Earth objects.  discovery reminds that even though scientists have found most large NEOs re is an ocean to cover, Dreier said in statement. 

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(Im for representation, Credits: NASA)