NASA Says Car-Sized Asteroid Heading For Earth, Will Get Closer Than Even Moon
NASA says an asteroid that is about the size of a car is speeding toward Earth and it will get uncomfortably close to Earth. In fact, it will get closer to Earth than the moon is.
While much has been said about an asteroid that may hit Earth in half-a-decade or so, another smaller asteroid is looming over the Earth and it is going to get terrifyingly close today. NASA data shows this asteroid is going to get closer than the moon to Earth.
But first back to asteroid 2024 YR4, which is widely expected to crash onto Earth in 2032. Notably, its chance of doing that have now been considerably reduced as per the latest calculations. This was according to University of Hawaii astronomers who are tracking this asteroid. They are utilising telescopes on Maunakea, including the Canada-France-Hawaii Telescope, to base their prediction on.
Be that as it may, right now what NASA is doing is tracking this new car-sized asteroid that will come much closer than the moon to Earth. Notably, the moon is, on an average, about 239,000 miles away from Earth.
Should you be worried that the gravitational pull that the Earth exerts on objects near it, will attract it toward our planet? NASA has it that the asteroid will actually miss Earth by a hair-breadth so to speak.
Here are a few important details about this asteroid. This is a 10-foot asteroid and at its closest approach to Earth today, it will be just 93,500 miles away. It has a moniker too - Asteroid 2025 DK1.
According to Jet Propulsion Laboratory's Small-Body Database Lookup, this asteroid belongs to the Apollo group of asteroids.
The asteroid is speeding along at an amazing 34518 miles per hour.
While it may miss the Earth this time, it will be back again in another five years. Astronomers expect it to make another approach close to Earth in the year 2030.
