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NASA warns of an asteroid threat looming over Earth. This space rock could come very close to the planet today!
Yesterday witnessed mass asteroid flybys with as many as four asteroids making close approaches to Earth in one day. NASA’s Planetary Defense Coordination Office is responsible for keeping an eye on the sky for rogue asteroids which could potentially threaten Earth. Now, NASA has warned that another massive asteroid is headed towards Earth. Although it is safe to say that people on Earth will remain unharmed as it is expected to pass by Earth at a safe distance, it has still been classified as a Potentially Hazardous Object.
Asteroid 2022 UU21 details
Asteroid 2022 UU21 belongs to the Apollo group of asteroids located in the asteroid belt between Mars and Jupiter. This group of near-Earth asteroids are named after the humongous 1862 Apollo asteroid, discovered by German astronomer Karl Reinmuth in the 1930s.
The asteroid is hurtling dangerously towards Earth and is set to make its closest approach to the planet today, November 2, at a close distance of 1.5 million kilometers. According to NASA, the asteroid is already on its way towards Earth travelling at a staggering speed of 35676 kilometers per hour, which is even faster than the recently crashed DART spacecraft which crashed into its target asteroid Dimorphos at 24000 kilometers per hour.
However, there is no cause for concern as no major asteroid impact is expected for at least next 100 years, according to Davide Farnocchia of NASA’s Near-Earth Object Studies Center. So, people will be relieved to know that none of the close-approaching space rocks will be any potentially “world-ending” asteroids.
According to Davide Farnocchia of NASA’s Near-Earth Object Studies Center, “A 2068 impact is not in the realm of possibility anymore, and our calculations don’t show any impact risk for at least the next 100 years.
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