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NASA monitors asteroids for any potential danger to Earth and tracks their orbits to minimize the uncertainty around the close approaches. When its telescopes track a new Near-Earth Asteroid (NEA), NASA astronomers measure the asteroid’s observed positions in the sky and report them to the Minor Planet Center. The Center for Near-Earth Object Studies (CNEOS) then uses that data to determine the asteroid’s most likely orbit around the Sun, according to NASA. To assess whether an impact is possible and narrow down where the true orbit may be, NASA’s new Sentry II then uses a unique algorithm and selects random points throughout the entire uncertainty region. This allows the program to zero in on more very low-probability impact scenarios.
NASA, using this advanced tech, has issued an alert against a colossal asteroid that will pass Earth closely soon.
Asteroid 2023 MG6
The asteroid, given the designation of Asteroid 2023 MG6, is on its way towards Earth and will make its closest approach to the planet on July 16. What’s shocking about this space rock is its colossal size. It has an estimated width of nearly 890 feet, which makes it almost as big as a stadium! The asteroid was spotted by NASA’s Defense Coordination Office (PDCO), which is responsible for monitoring the skies and keeping a watch on various Near-Earth Objects (NEOs).
Other details
Asteroid 2023 MG6 is expected to make its closest approach to the planet at a distance of 3.6 million kilometers at a speed of 44564 kilometers per hour, as per NASA. It belongs to the Amor group of Near-Earth Asteroids which are Earth-approaching near-Earth asteroids with orbits exterior to Earth but interior to Mars’, named after asteroid 1221 Amor.
Shockingly, it has also been classified as a Potentially Hazardous Object due to its close distance of approach, as well as its humongous size. NASA classifies asteroids as ‘Potentially Hazardous’ if they come within 7.5 million kilometers of Earth and have a size bigger than 150 meters.
What’s more astonishing is that this is Asteroid 2023 MG6’s first close approach to Earth in recorded history, and as of now, it is the only one in the future too! But it could change as asteroids get influenced by the gravitational field of a large planet such as Jupiter, which knocks them off their orbit and sends them tumbling towards a planet like Earth for potential impact.
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