NASA confirms that a giant asteroid is heading towards Earth. Does it pose any risks?
Just a week after a massive asteroid, much larger than the world’s tallest building, Burj-Khalifa, passed close to Earth, another asteroid will soon pass by. According to NASA, a giant rock about 160 feet in size, dubbed 2021 GT2 will pass by Earth on June 6, 2022. The space agency revealed that the asteroid is heading towards the planet. our planet at a speed of 26,000 km/h .
The asteroid 2021 GT2 is actually an Aten-class asteroid, orbiting the sun even closer than Earth. For example, in the case of this asteroid, it orbits the Sun once every 342 days, and during this journey, its orbit crosses the Earth’s orbit. Astronomers know more than 1,800 such asteroids and many of them are considered potentially dangerous! So does the asteroid 2021 GT2 pose any risk to Earth? Also read: NASA’s mission to Venus will carry this coin-sized device!
Should we worry about this asteroid?
Good luck! Despite the fact that it will move at an amazing speed, NASA says that the asteroid will hover at a safe distance from Earth. The space rock will appear closer than 3.5 million km from Earth. This distance is almost 10 times the distance between the Moon and Earth. Therefore, the asteroid is not harmful to us and NASA has not classified it as “potentially dangerous”. Also Read: NASA’s Hubble Space Telescope Detects a Galaxy Hidden Behind the Milky Way Galaxy!
On June 6, the asteroid will come close to Earth without any mishap. Even after this encounter with Earth, this giant asteroid will approach closer to January 2034!
However, there is still a chance that an asteroid could move slightly from its orbit, and if that happens, it could lead to disaster!
