Scientists investigate why small asteroid is picking up speed

This is quite interesting. There is an asteroid that is expected to pass by Earth in a couple of years here, 2028 to be exact. But the big question is, why is this asteroid picking up speed? Let's get to Amy Gallo. She's joining us from Cape Canaveral. Should we be concerned here, Amy? Hi, Thomas. Look, despite what you're seeing online, some of those headlines telling you that this asteroid is heading straight towards Earth, the reality is it's going to pass by us at a safe distance around 33 million miles away. First of all, nothing is about to hit us, to be very clear on this. There is an asteroid out there that I think some of the UAP community, if you will, is observing it and thinks it's making some unusual maneuvering out there. I've not seen any evidence to suggest this is a threat to our planet or anything other than an asteroid. I promise you we'll keep our eyes on it. The asteroid first discovered in 1998 is dubbed 1998 KY26. It's 36 feet wide and orbits the sun roughly every 500 days. And just like all objects in orbit, 1998 KY26 speeds up as it moves closer to the sun and then slows down as it moves farther away. But during each approach, this asteroid picks up some additional speed that cannot be explained by gravity alone. Earlier theories Suggested that as the. As the asteroid got closer to the sun, heat turned its ice into steam, causing it to move faster, almost like a rocket. But Georgia Tech researchers say this is unlikely because the asteroid's surface temperature is too hot. It's kind of like detective work. We're just kind of crossing things off as to what the cause could be. So the solar radiation pressure seems very promising. It's kind of like a ball bouncing off a wall, in a sense. So the momentum was going this way, and now it's going this way for the light. Also, thermal radiation is infrared light. So when something is cooling off, it's also giving off particles that have momentum with them. Now because this asteroid is so small these theories are all based on simulation models but there is a Japanese space probe making its way to the asteroid now and it should give us some more concrete answers. The bad news is that'll have to wait at least another five years for us to get some more information. Back to you. Yeah the great unknown. Do you know, I know it's a couple of years away, is this something the asteroid will be able to see with the naked eye? Probably not. This is just 36 feet about in length, right? So it's very small. We're talking like a school bus in size. So we won't be able to see it with the naked eye. We certainly won't be able to see it with any sort of backyard telescope that you own. But a highly sophisticated telescope might be able to get a look at it. So I'm sure that this is going to be a good moment for scientists that are here working to get some answers. Absolutely. Yeah, perhaps if you're able to see with the naked eye, it's a little too close to Earth. Amy Galliforce in Cape Canaveral. We appreciate it, Amy. Thank you so much.