Asteroid of Chelyabinsk Size to Make Close Flyby of Earth
Asteroids regularly pass by Earth at close distances, although not all of them actually collide with the surface. Nevertheless, there is no certainty that none of them will ever do so. In 2013, a house-sized asteroid exploded above Russia’s Chelyabinsk city, causing damage to around 8000 buildings and leaving almost 1000 people injured. More recently, a small space rock landed on a woman’s roof in France and struck her chest. These near misses with asteroids emphasize the significance of monitoring and tracking them to anticipate any potential close encounters with our planet.
Using its advanced ground and space telescopes such as the Asteroid Terrestrial-impact Last Alert System (ATLAS), Wide-field Infrared Survey Explorer (WISE) and Pans-STARRS1, NASA has discovered an asteroid that is buzzing the earth. in the coming days.
Asteroid 2023 OE5 data
According to data revealed by NASA, the asteroid, known as Asteroid 2023 OE5, is close to Earth and traveling at 13,930 kilometers per hour. It will make its closest approach to Earth on August 14. On that day, it will come within 1.5 million kilometers of the planet.
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.
Asteroid threat – is it dangerous?
NASA estimates it to be about 58 feet wide, making it almost the size of a house. Therefore, asteroid 2023 OE5 is by no means a planet killer. However, it could cause damage if it hits the surface, as it is almost the same size as the Chelyabinsk asteroid.
Although NASA scientists estimate that an asteroid would need to be about 60 miles (96 kilometers) wide to completely and utterly destroy life on Earth, smaller asteroids like Asteroid 2023 OE5 can also cause some damage. These close approaches have served as a reminder of the threat posed by these space rocks and highlighted the importance of tracking and studying them.
