NASA Unveils Details of Asteroid Larger than Brooklyn Bridge Heading Towards Earth Today
Throughout the 4.5 billion-year history of Earth, numerous significant asteroid impacts have shaped the planet’s future and played a crucial role in the rise of humanity. One of the most momentous impacts occurred approximately 65 million years ago, when a colossal asteroid measuring 12 kilometers in width collided with Earth, resulting in the extinction of nearly 70 percent of species, including dinosaurs. The impact site, known as the Yucatan Peninsula in Mexico, still bears the remnants of this catastrophic event. These massive asteroids possess the potential to cause widespread devastation if they collide with Earth. Thankfully, NASA and other space agencies now possess an array of space and ground-based telescopes to detect and monitor these asteroids.
With the help of such high-tech instruments, NASA has released information about an asteroid that is scheduled to pass by Earth today, October 3.
Asteroid 2008 QY: Details
According to the Center for Near-Earth Object Studies (CNEOS), this Near-Earth Asteroid (NEA) is expected to make its closest approach to Earth today, October 3rd. Although this space rock will come very close to the planet, it is not expected to impact the surface. According to NASA, asteroid 2008 QY will pass Earth at a distance of about 6.3 million kilometers.
It is already on its way to the planet and travels at a blistering speed of 75457 kilometers per hour. The size of the asteroid is also worrisome. According to NASA, Asteroid 2008 QY is a potentially hazardous asteroid. NASA classifies asteroids as “potentially hazardous” if they are within 7.5 million kilometers of Earth and are larger than 492 meters. At nearly 2,200 feet wide, it’s almost as big as the bridge!
It has been added to NASA’s close approach list and has also been declared a potentially hazardous asteroid due to its close approach distance and enormous size. This is bigger than the famous Brooklyn Bridge!
The space agency has also revealed that Asteroid 2008 QY belongs to Apollo’s group of Near-Earth Asteroids, which are space rocks that cross Earth with semi-major axes larger than Earth’s. These asteroids are named after the huge 1862 Apollo asteroid discovered by German astronomer Karl Reinmuth in the 1930s.
