The National Aeronautics and Space Administration, or NASA, has released a new alert detailing an asteroid approaching Earth and on track to pass the planet at an extraordinarily close distance of approximately 3,79,994 km, which is even closer than the Moon.
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- What asteroid is approaching Earth?
- Who discovered this asteroid?
- When will it pass by Earth?
- Why is this asteroid considered not a threat?
What asteroid is approaching Earth?
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The asteroid has been identified as Asteroid 2023 TK15 by the space agency and will make its closest approach on Friday, October 20, 2023. According to the information available, the asteroid is part of the Apollo group of near-Earth asteroids, which are the Earth . -cross rocks with semi-axes greater than the Earth.
These asteroids are named after the massive Apollo asteroid of 1862, which was discovered in the 1930s by German astronomer Karl Reinmuth. In particular, the American space agency has been tracking these asteroids for a long time to keep the world safe from these objects.
Who discovered this asteroid?
This asteroid was discovered by scientists using modern technological instruments such as the NEOWISE telescope, the Atacama Large Millimeter/Submillimeter Array (ALMA) and the Catalina Sky Survey, among others.
When will it pass by Earth?
The asteroid is already on its way and traveling at about 79,085 kilometers per hour, faster than a space shuttle. According to NASA, the asteroid will pass close to Earth at a distance of 379,994 kilometers, even closer than the Moon. For the uninitiated, the distance from the Moon to Earth is 384,400 kilometers.
Why is this asteroid considered not a threat?
Due to its tiny size, despite coming very close, it has been considered non-threatening. NASA estimates it is between 130 and 150 feet wide, making it the size of a passenger plane.
While this is not the first time an asteroid has passed by Earth, it is the first time it has been classified as a Near-Earth Object (NEO). NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) also ruled out any future approach, calling it “possibly the last close encounter.”
Notably, this comes just a few days after several other asteroids passed close to Earth. On October 13, the asteroids Asteroid 2023 TC1, Asteroid 2023 TB4, Asteroid 2021 NT14, Asteroid 2023 TU5 and Asteroid 2023 TD4 reached their closest approach to Earth. It was claimed that the asteroids were larger and came closer to the globe at 1.7 million kilometers per hour.
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Source: vtt.edu.vn