Earth to Have a Near Miss with Apollo Group Asteroid Today

Were you aware that a 1000-pound meteorite collided with Earth earlier this year? This is not a fictional scenario, but a factual occurrence. NASA recently disclosed that a meteorite transformed into a fiery ball and crashed near McAllen, Texas on February 15. The rock was 2 feet in diameter and weighed 1000 pounds, breaking into fragments approximately 21 miles above the Earth’s surface. The meteor was traveling at a speed of 27,000 miles per hour and had an energy equivalent to 8 tons of TNT. Numerous reports indicate that law enforcement agencies in the McAllen area received multiple calls from residents who heard a loud explosion.

Although not expected to hit Earth, NASA has warned that another space rock will pass very close to Earth today, June 26.

When will an asteroid pass Earth?

According to data released by CNEOS, the asteroid named Asteroid 2023 ME1 is approaching Earth at breakneck speed and is expected to make its closest approach to the planet today, June 26. It comes up to a distance of 4.8 million kilometers. this distance may seem large, it is a relatively small number in astronomical distances considering how large the asteroid is.

How fast does it go?

Shockingly, the asteroid is hurtling towards Earth at a terrifying speed. According to data released by NASA, this space rock is currently moving towards Earth at a speed of 43,685 kilometers per hour, which is several times faster than a hypersonic ballistic missile!

How big is it?

NASA estimates it to be about 88 feet wide, and while it’s not big enough to be called a planet killer, it can be compared to an airplane in terms of size! It belongs to Apollo’s group of Near-Earth Asteroids, which are Earth-passing space rocks 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.