NASA Monitors Giant Apollo Asteroid Heading Towards Earth
Asteroids, with their varying orbits, occasionally come close to Earth, but is there a potential threat to our planet? NASA strongly believes so. Over time, Earth has experienced numerous asteroid impacts, including the Chelyabinsk asteroid and the Chicxulub crater, believed to be caused by the asteroid that wiped out the dinosaurs. Shockingly, a woman in France was even struck in the chest by a space rock recently. Dr. Kelly E. Fast from NASA warns, “Throughout Earth’s history, asteroids have collided with our planet, and it is inevitable that it will occur again.”
Thus, the study of these space rocks becomes essential to minimize the uncertainty of their close approaches. Using its advanced ground and space telescopes, NASA has tracked an asteroid whose orbit will soon bring it very close to Earth.
Asteroid 2016 AW65
According to details released by the Center for Near-Earth Object Studies (CNEOS), the asteroid, named Asteroid 2016 AW65, is heading towards Earth and could make its closest approach to the planet today, July 31.
According to the details, asteroid 2016 AW65 is expected to make its closest approach to the planet at a distance of only 6.3 million kilometers and at a speed of 20,583 kilometers per hour, which is much faster than Intercontinental Ballistic Missiles (ICBM)!
Is it dangerous?
According to NASA, the near-Earth asteroid is not large enough to be classified as a potentially hazardous object and is not expected to hit the surface. However, it remains a potential threat to the planet, especially if it affects a densely populated area. Asteroid 2016 AW65 is nearly 150 feet across, three times the size of the Chelyabinsk meteor that wreaked havoc in Russia in 2013!
Other details
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.
According to NASA, the asteroid first approached Earth on August 2, 1916 at a distance of 4.4 million kilometers, and last came close to the planet on August 2, 1982, when it passed 5.5. million kilometers.
After today, asteroid 2016 AW65 will make its next approach on August 1, 2048, when it will come within 5.3 million kilometers of Earth.
