A massive asteroid will be making its closest approach to the Earth today, October 8, according to NASA. Is there a risk of asteroid strike? Find out.
The Earth is dodging asteroids left and right. After escaping the threat from a couple of asteroids yesterday, including a 100-foot space rock, the Earth again faces the scare of an even larger one. According to NASA, a 130-foot wide asteroid is approaching the Earth today, October 8 and this is a scary development. An asteroid this size can easily flatten a major city in the world if it ends up getting dragged by the Earth’s gravitational pull and unleash a nightmarish hell on our planet. So, how likely is the chance of an asteroid strike? Read on to find out.
The tech NASA leverages to protect the Earth
NASA has built and operates various departments that are tasked with the duty of tracking any near Earth object (NEO) that have the potential to hit the Earth and kill us. These departments use various ground based telescopes, satellite telescopes such as the Wide-field Infrared Survey Explorer (NEOWISE) as well as analysis and prediction models that not only track more than 20,000 space rocks but also predict the likelihood of any of them hitting us in the next 100 years.
Will this massive asteroid hit the Earth?
According to the data provided by Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) as well as Center for Near Earth Objects Studies (CNEOS) and Small-Body database by NASA, we know quite a bit about this asteroid. The Apollo-class space rock has been named 2022 SU21 and it was first discovered on September 27 of this year. The asteroid is expected to come as close as 761 thousand kilometers to the Earth. While many asteroids pass the Earth on a daily basis, rarely a few come closer than a million kilometers. The asteroid also has an extremely high speed of 71,064 kilometers per hour which means if it does get deflected, it can reach the Earth within hours. And this is why there is a serious concern over this celestial body.
But if the NASA predictions are to be believed, the asteroid will likely make a safe passage across the planet. But, space is an unknown territory and nothing can be left to assumptions. That’s why NASA will be tracking this asteroid till it passes the Earth by and reaches a safe distance.