450-foot asteroid, bigger than the Statue of Liberty, rushing towards Earth at fearsome speed

Located at JPL, the Center for Near-Earth Object Studies (CNEOS) works alongside the Planetary Defense Coordination Office at NASA Headquarters in Washington to characterize the orbits of near-Earth asteroids. The organization further studies the data, predicts the close approaches with Earth, and even carries out impact hazard assessments in order to minimize the uncertainty around the trajectory of these space objects.

The increasing number of asteroids that pass Earth closely has made it imperative for space agencies such as NASA and ESA to continuously monitor them, and another one is set to pass Earth closely today. Know the asteroid’s details here.

Asteroid 2022 WN4 details

According to details revealed by NASA, an asteroid, identified as Asteroid 2022 WN4, is close to Earth, travelling at 54272 kilometers per hour. It will make its closest approach to the Earth today, June 13, at a distance of 4.1 million kilometers.

It belongs to the Apollo group of asteroids which are Earth-crossing space rocks with semi-major axes larger than Earth’s. They are named after the humongous 1862 Apollo asteroid, discovered by German astronomer Karl Reinmuth in the 1930s.

Asteroid threat – Is it dangerous?

In terms of size, NASA estimates it to be around 450 feet wide, making it almost as big as a skyscraper. In fact, it is even bigger than the Statue of Liberty! Although NASA scientists estimate that an asteroid would have to be about 96 km wide to completely and utterly wipe out life on Earth, smaller asteroids such as Asteroid 2022 WN4 also have the potential to cause damage up to some extent. For example, the asteroid which exploded over the city of Chelyabinsk was just 59 feet wide. When it exploded, it damaged nearly 8000 buildings and left over 1000 people injured.

These close calls with asteroids highlight the importance of continued technological development in asteroid detection and monitoring programs, which help to ensure the safety of our planet from the potential impact of these space rocks.