Asteroid 2018 BG5 belongs to the Apollo group of Near-Earth Asteroids. (Pixabay)

NASA Reveals Details of Upcoming Asteroid Flyby

Adriana MaraisJuly 25, 23 asteroids, NASA

According to NASA, there are currently around 1,298,148 known asteroids. Among them, one is expected to come remarkably close to Earth in the near future. To determine the asteroid’s probable orbit around the Sun, NASA’s Center for Near-Earth Object Studies (CNEOS) relies on data gathered by telescopes. To evaluate the likelihood of an impact and narrow down the potential orbit, NASA’s new Sentry II employs an innovative algorithm and randomly selects points within the entire uncertainty region. This enables Sentry II to focus on improbable scenarios with an extremely low probability of impact.

With such advanced technology, an asteroid named as Asteroid 2018 BG5 has been spotted heading towards Earth and will come close in the coming days.

Detail

Asteroid 2018 BG5 will come very close to Earth on July 27. According to NASA, this space rock will come as close as 4.1 million kilometers during its closest approach. While this distance may seem considerable, it is relatively small in astronomical terms given the asteroid’s massive size. The space rock is already on its way and travels at a terrifying speed of 30,094 kilometers per hour.

It belongs to the group of Apollo asteroids, which are Earth-passing space rocks with semi-major axes larger than Earth’s. They are named after the Apollo asteroid of 1862, which was discovered by German astronomer Karl Reinmuth in the 1930s.

Is Asteroid 2018 BG5 dangerous?

The size of the asteroid is estimated to be about 180 feet wide and can be compared to an airplane! Although NASA has revealed that an asteroid would need to be nearly 60 miles (96 kilometers) across to completely wipe out life on Earth, smaller space rocks can still cause damage. This became clear when a 59-foot-tall asteroid exploded over the city of Chelyabinsk in 2013, injuring more than 1,000 and damaging nearly 8,000 buildings.

Therefore, these close encounters with asteroids highlight the importance of continued technological advancements in asteroid detection and tracking programs to help ensure the safety of our planet from the potential impacts of these space rocks.