Asteroid 2024 MK is a threat, yes, a very serious threat, but not in the conditions that, as always when circumstances of this type arise, many media outlets, star social media accounts, etc. So let’s start with the most direct and important and then elaborate: asteroid 2024 MK will pass “close” to Earth, but It poses no risk to our planet. None, nothing, zero.

Not much is known about asteroid 2024 MK yet, and for good reason It was only detected a few days ago, on June 16. This explains why its “appearance” was a surprise, since we did not know about it until less than two weeks before its trajectory reached the closest point to our planet. And how close does it mean in this case? Well, the shortest distance between 2024 MK and Earth will be around 290,000 kilometers. For comparison, the Moon is located at an average distance of 384,400 kilometers from Earth.

Next comes the moment of maximum closeness Saturday 29 June at 13:46 UTC, 15:46 mainland Spanish time, and sighting enthusiasts may be in luck as it is expected to be visible even with small telescopes. Of course, it will not be observable with the naked eye, as scientists have determined that its size is with a diameter of 120 to 260 meters.

Image: ESA

Although all experts agree that the risk of impact simply does not exist, we have already seen publications that opted for plus “yellowness”, a formula we’ve seen a thousand times before, but which they never tire of exploiting, even when they know they’re not doing the right thing. Fortunately, yes, they seem to be fewer and fewer, but it still feels like a scourge we’ll have to endure for a while longer.

However, there is a somewhat more disturbing reading and it is the short time that A 2024 MK was detected, despite the proximity of its passage through our part of the Universe. This should certainly serve as another reminder of how important, if not essential, it is to provide reconnaissance and identification services for this type of threat with as many resources as they may need. This is a problem and should be a priority.

More information