Massive asteroids rush towards Earth, NASA releases list

A day after a 92-feet-asteroid came in close proximity to Earth, NASA released a list of asteroids that will approach Earth in the coming days. While comets and asteroids help us get various answers related to the Universe, celestial objects coming near Earth can be dangerous sometimes.

Till now, scientists have registered 3,865 known comets and 1,278,065 known asteroids, which are remnants of the solar system created 4.6 billion years ago.

Although a meteor shower is an exquisite event for the stargazers, asteroids are considered hazardous and can cause a great deal of damage to our planet. However, most asteroids disintegrate after entering the Earth’s atmosphere.

Massive asteroids heading towards Earth

On April 4, a 92-feet-long asteroid crossed within 1,400,000 kilometres of Earth. Now, another asteroid as big as a bus, is heading towards Earth and will pass our planet on April 5, at a narrow margin of only 5,68,000 miles.

Another asteroid, 65-feet-tall, and as big as a house, will remain 3,570,000 miles away from Earth on April 6.

An asteroid named ‘2023 FZ3’ is 150-feet-tall and is as huge as an airplane, and is also heading towards Earth on April 6. This massive asteroid is approaching our planet at a neck-breaking speed of 67,656 kilometres per hour and will pass by Earth at a distance of 4,190,000 kilometres.

NASA’s Asteroid Watch dashboard regularly keeps track of asteroids and comets near the Earth and monitors each encounter. The agency provides details of every encounter, such as the date of the closest approach, estimated object diameter, relative size, and distance from Earth.

NASA has labeled about 30,000 asteroids of all sizes, including over 850 that are more than one kilometre wide as "Near Earth Objects" (NEOs), since they are in the vicinity of Earth but do not pose threat to our planet for the next century.

FAQs

Where do asteroids come from?
Asteroids are remnants of our early solar system that was created about 4.6 billion years ago when a big cloud of gas and dust collapsed. According to NASA, when this happened, all the material fell to the center of the cloud and formed the sun.

Which asteroids are considered hazardous?
NASA has labelled those asteroids as “potentially hazardous asteroids” which are larger than 100 m in diameter and come within 0.05 astronomical units of Earth.