1500-foot Asteroid Rapidly Approaching Earth with Potential Risk

NASA utilizes telescopes like Pans-STARRS1 in Maui, Hawaii, and Catalina Sky Survey near Tucson, Arizona, to identify asteroids and comets that are in close proximity to Earth. To obtain precise data on the trajectory and characteristics of these objects, NASA employs ground-based radar. Despite being located far away in space, NASA’s technology enables the observation and monitoring of these space rocks for any potential hazards. Additionally, NEOWISE, NASA’s space-based observatory, has detected numerous asteroids by scanning the skies with near-infrared wavelengths of light from its orbit around Earth’s poles.

Recently, using this advanced technology, NASA discovered another asteroid that could soon come close to Earth.

Asteroid 1994 XD information

NASA has issued a warning about a certain asteroid called Asteroid 1994 XD because it is coming very close to Earth. The asteroid is currently traveling at a speed of about 77,301 kilometers and is scheduled to approach Earth on June 12th at a distance of only 3.1 million kilometers!

Although not a planet killer, this asteroid has become a concern due to its massive size and has been declared a potentially hazardous object. Scientists estimate it to be about 1,500 feet wide, so it’s about the size of a bridge! NASA revealed that it first approached Earth on May 31, 1904 from a distance of 2.5 million kilometers, while the last approach was on November 27, 2012.

It belongs to the Apollo group of asteroids, which is a space rock that crosses the Earth on a semimajor axis greater than the Earth’s axis.

Apophis asteroid

NASA and other space agencies are observing a certain asteroid that was previously expected to collide with Earth. Although it has now been determined that the asteroid will not hit the planet’s surface, it will come very close this decade, giving scientists a chance to study it.

This asteroid was named 99942 Apophis and NASA’s Center for Near-Earth Object Research named asteroid 2004 MN4. According to NASA, asteroid Apophis 99942 will make a very close trip to Earth on April 13, 2029. On that day, this space rock will approach Earth’s surface by about 38,000 km. This is closer than many geostationary satellites orbiting the planet.