An asteroid the size of a 50-story skyscraper will make its closest approach to Earth in nearly 100 years on Sunday.
The space rock will miss Earth by more than 16 times the average distance between the two planets. The average distance between Earth and the moon is about 23%, but this is much farther away.
According to NASA, the asteroid is traveling at an estimated 16,900 mph and is eight times faster than a rifle bullet.
There are asteroids and comets that are strange.
The space rock made a number of close approaches to Earth. The asteroid won't approach our planet again until May 2048 according to NASA.
Thousands of near- Earth objects like this one are closely monitored by NASA and other space agencies. Even if an asteroid's trajectory puts it millions of miles from our planet, there is an extremely slim chance that the asteroid's path could cause it to collide with a planet.
Space agencies are very serious about planetary defense. The Double Asteroid Redirection Test will slam into the asteroid Dimorphos in the fall of 2022. The collision won't destroy the asteroid, but it may change the space rock's path. Should a future asteroid pose an imminent danger to our planet, the mission will test the viability of asteroid defense.
It was originally published on Live Science
All Rights Reserved © 2024
