Earth to have near miss with asteroid in the coming hours – here’s all you need to know | World News
The asteroid should come very close to Earth in the coming hours, flying just a few thousand kilometers above the planet’s surface.
The relatively close miss will be broadcast live via robotic telescopes – here’s what you need to know about the asteroid and how you can watch it.
What do we know about this asteroid?
The asteroid was first discovered on January 21 and named asteroid 2023 BU.
NASA stated that “a small near-Earth asteroid will collide very closely with our planet” as it “flies over the southern tip of South America”.
It should fly past the Earth shortly after midnight on Friday, January 27th.
When it passes at its closest point, it will be 2,200 miles above the surface of the earth. This is less than 3% of the average distance between the Earth and the Moon.
It may seem like a long time, but this asteroid will be the fourth closest asteroid to Earth since registration began.
In comparison, some satellites orbit at over 21,000 miles.
Should I be worried about an asteroid hitting Earth?
In short, no. The size of the asteroid is between 3.8 and 8.4 meters – it is small enough to burn up when entering the Earth’s atmosphere.
Apparently, it is the size of an elephant.
According to NASAasteroids smaller than 25m are likely to burn up, resulting in little or no damage to the ground.
Read more in Sky News:
Strange new secret about Earth’s inner core
Ants can smell cancer in their urine
What is the Doomsday Clock and how does it work?
How can I watch an asteroid pass close to Earth?
The Virtual Telescope Project began livestreaming the close encounter from 19:15 on Thursday, January 26.
Astronomer Gianluca Masi will host a free live stream on the project website and YouTube channel.
The Virtual Telescope Project is operated by the Bellatrix Astronomical Observatory in Italy and consists of several robotic telescopes available online.
What is an asteroid?
According to NASA, an asteroid is “a relatively small, inactive body orbiting the sun.” It is usually made of rocky, dusty and metallic materials.
Most of them orbit within the main asteroid belt, between the orbits of Mars and Jupiter, but some follow paths that lead into the inner solar system (including near-Earth asteroids).
AND NASA website displays the next five approximations of asteroids expected near Earth, showing that they are usually very far away. Asteroids range in size from the size of a house to a bus or plane.
