A sighting of an asteroid in the region of Botswana and South Africa was recently reported. The Catalina Sky Survey in Arizona and other space monitoring parties observe and track space activity. They followed what is now called the asteroid 2018 LA and the trajectory path it took as it disintegrated over the continent.
Asteroids are defined in the NASA glossary as "Metallic, rocky objects without atmospheres that orbit the Sun, but are too small to be called planets." They are normally irregular in shape and measure as little as a few feet and up to hundreds of miles wide. The asteroid over Africa was relatively small.
Monitoring space activity is important to understand its possibilities and the effects it has on planet earth.
Take a further look at the following sites
Read Article and watch video
For students interested in engineering, take on the Asteroids Challenge at Spaceworks.
Asteroid:Mission Extreme; a documentary exploring space travel being shown at the Franklin Institute and other venues.
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