#AsteroidDayReflections: Remembering 2021
#AsteroidDayReflections: Remembering 2021 https://asteroidday-uploads.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/12/07223539/Asteroidreflections-3.gif 480 270 Asteroid Day https://asteroidday-uploads.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/12/07223539/Asteroidreflections-3.gif
Tijana Prodanovic for Asteroid Day 2021
December is a great time of year to reflect and share the notable moments in asteroid science, exploration and planetary defence. It is a busy month in both the northern and southern hemispheres, with people celebrating the holidays, out on summer break or enjoying the alpine snow. How do you host an event in-between cooking a roast and watching football? Time to pull out your phone and take to social media!
In the past few years we have seen our Asteroid Day event organizers use Facebook, Twitter and TikTok to give video lessons on asteroids. We would like to invite you to do the same! Create a short video highlighting a piece of asteroid news, education or event art and use the hashtag #AsteroidDayReflections and we will repost it to our social media throughout the month of December.
Need some inspiration? Check out these short videos by Kirsten Banks of SpaceAustralia.com and Tijana Prodanovic from Serbia from Asteroid Day 2022.
Consider using one of the few notable events we have observed in 2022:
- In March, several astronomers observed the nearby passage of asteroid 99942 Apophis across Earth. These observations allowed us to conclude that this asteroid is no longer at risk of hitting Earth.
- In April there was the Planetary Defense Conference organized by the International Academy of Astronautics. There, an asteroid impact threat simulation took place and a team of experts thought of strategies to intercept, deflect or destroy it.
- In June there was another edition of Asteroid Day LIVE. With 40+ speakers and 5 hours of original content, this year’s program covered everything from tracking, planetary defence, space resources and the future exploration of our solar system.
- The last part of the year was very busy! In October, the UAE announced plans for an ambitious mission to the asteroid belt. We had the launch of the Lucy spacecraft to study Jupiter’s Trojan asteroids and ESO released a family album with images of 42 Main Belt asteroids taken by the Very Large Telescope.
- In November, the NEO-MAPP mid-term review took place, with members and experts meeting in Côte d’Azur, France.
- And finally, there was the long-awaited launch of the Double Asteroid Redirection Test (DART), with the arrival of the asteroid Dimorphos next fall.
- Some bright meteors also have impressed the whole world, like this one recorded in France and this other one in the UK where a meteorite originating from this fireball was later found, the first to fall in the country in 30 years.
These are just a few of the many exciting happenings of 2021, but there are many more! If you participated in Asteroid Day this year, be sure to mention it!
Don’t forget to register your video online, report after and most importantly- include the hashtag #AsteroidDayReflections and @ us at asteroidday so we can share your video on our social media!
See you online!
