Asteroid watch: NASA reveals dangerous asteroid rushing towards Earth today

NASA keeps a watch on asteroids by studying data collected by various telescopes and observatories such as the Pan-STARRS, the Catalina Sky Survey and the NEOWISE telescope. With the help of its various telescopes, the space agency has discovered a huge asteroid heading dangerously towards Earth today. This particular asteroid has caused created hug worries for space agencies as it was discovered just 3 days ago on October 16.The asteroid has been classified as a potentially hazardous due to the close proximity of its encounter with Earth. Here’s what you need to know about this asteroid.

Asteroid 2022 UE key details

The asteroid, named Asteroid 2022 UE, is already on its way towards the planet. This 54-foot space rock is set to make its closest approach to Earth today, October 19, at a distance of just 1.4 million kilometers. According to NASA, the asteroid is speeding towards Earth at a staggering 19440 kilometers per hour.

Asteroid 2022 UE was discovered very recently on October 16, 2022 and it belongs to the Apollo group of asteroids. According to the-sky.org, the asteroid completes its orbit around the Sun in around 610 days. During this orbit, its farthest distance from the Sun is 272 million kilometers while the nearest distance is 149 million kilometers.

How NASA studies and tracks asteroids: Tech explained

Surveys done by NASA-supported ground-based telescopes – including Pans-STARRS1 in Maui, Hawaii, as well as the Catalina Sky Survey near Tucson, Arizona – have identified thousands of near-Earth objects. And a space-based telescope called NEOWISE has identified hundreds of others while scanning the skies at near-infrared wavelengths of light from its polar orbit around Earth. NASA uses its ground-based radar to gather precise data about the asteroid’s path and its characteristics.

NASA also has a new impact monitoring system in place which uses an algorithm called Sentry-II to calculate the impact risk of Near-Earth Objects. The space agency has a NEO Surveyor mission planned for launch in 2026 to gain even greater in-depth data using a new orbiter.